Weekly Roundup
June 1 – June 5 2015


A Note From Our President & Founder Jim Garrettson

The country’s mailing agency has kicked off an initiative to connect its drivers and vehicles to the Internet through mobile devices with an eye toward the “Internet of Things.”
Randy Miskanic, the Postal Service’s acting chief information officer, told Federal News Radio USPS plans to deploy 225,000 devices for letter carriers and other staff to transmit information on packages to senders and receivers in real time.
Honeywell received a $250 million contract to help the Postal Service implement the devices, which will work to help managers and carriers create routes as they wish.
“It allows us a lot of opportunities to consider what is next for the future as we look to vehicles and the Internet of Things,” Miskanic told the station.
“What else could we potentially have that could be tethered to a vehicle to increase reach, range and processing capability.”
Enterprises take an additional risk every time they connect a device or a piece of infrastructure to a network and this move toward an “Internet of Things” will accelerate as those links increase, Parsons’ Biff Lyons told ExecutiveBiz in May.
Lyons, senior vice president of Parsons’ national security division, said that convergence of infrastructure with the Internet makes it difficult for industry and agencies to emphasize one area of security over another.
“If people don’t take the right steps to fully understand the threats and implement protections to mitigate those threats, there could be significant damage to their enterprise and its ability to perform its mission,” said Lyons.
“There will be a continued emphasis on security and the convergence of those operational technology systems with the network and the cyber protections required.”
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The Internet of Things will be the main talking point at the Potomac Officers Club’s June 16 summit, which will feature discussions on how the Internet has converged with appliances, automobiles and building systems.
Vint Cerf, widely recognized as a “father of the Internet” and Google’s chief Internet evangelist, will address the executive audience at the half-day event in McLean, Va.
John Pescatore, director of emerging security at the SANS Institute and a speaker at POC’s 2013 cloud summit, will return to offer his perspective on how agencies and businesses can collaborate to protect connected devices and networks.
Other speakers include Dan Doney, chief innovation officer at the Defense Intelligence Agency, and Kevin Kampschroer, GSA’s director of federal high-performance green buildings.
Click here to register for the Internet of Things summit and view POC’s full event calendar.

THIS WEEK’S TOP NEWS STORIES

Former Exelis CEO David Melcher Appointed Aerospace Industries Association Chief Executive
Melcher led Exelis for four years through its October 2011 spinoff from ITT Corp. and sale to Harris Corp. in May for $4.75 billion in cash and stock.
Peter Whitfield to Join American Systems as CFO; Peter Smith Comments
Whitfield will start his new role on June 24 and succeed Mark Danisewicz, who will help with the transition until his official retirement July 10.
PAE Closes A-T Solutions Acquisition; John Heller Comments
A-T Solutions becomes a part of the national security solutions segment at PAE, which has bought 4 companies since its 2011 transition from Lockheed Martin.
DoD Approves $4B Navy Carrier Construction Contract for Huntington Ingalls
The shipbuilder expects to officially receive the contract to build the USS John F. Kennedy by August.
Army Selects CAE for $200M Fixed-Wing Pilot Training Contract; Gene Colabatistto, Ray Duquette Comment
CAE will help train at least 600 Air Force and Army pilots per year through the end of September 2023.
Steve Weiss on CACI’s C4ISR Push Through Six3 & LTC Buys, His Corporate Ombudsman Role
CACI’s EVP of government business operations also outlines subcontracting partnership aims in Q&A with ExecutiveBiz.
Lynn DeCourcey of NJVC on GovCon Tech Recruiting Efforts, Industry’s Role in DoD Cyber Initiatives
NJVC’s cybersecurity business head spoke to ExecutveBiz for a discussion on cyber trends and how agencies have shifted their information security priorities.
Vernon Bailey on SAP NS2’s Partner Ecosystem Emphasis, Cloud Services Push
SAP NS2’s VP of sales also discusses future IT security trends and public-private partnerships to protect computer networks with ExecutiveBiz.
Erin Hawley on Cloudera’s Cloud Security Collaborations With Agencies, Hadoop Training Initiatives
Cloudera’s national security programs director also overviews emerging data management areas in conversation with ExecutiveBiz.
David Wajsgras: New Raytheon Cyber Hub to House Research, Test Collaborations
The missile maker has opened a new cybersecurity research center inside its intelligence business’ headquarters in Sterling.
Frank Kendall: DoD, Partners Eye Savings With Planned F-35 Block Buy
The military’s chief weapons buyer says DoD plans to purchase more than 400 jets in a three-year block buy that would start in 2018.
Reports: Air Force Long Range Bomber Review Finished, Contract Award Set for August
Northrop Grumman and a Boeing-Lockheed Martin team are competing for a contract worth between $50 billion and $80 billion.
Report: Navy to Launch UCLASS Contract Competition After DoD’s Aircraft Portfolio Review
Companies in the running to build the carrier-based unmanned vehicle include Boeing, General Atomics, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman.
DoD Unveils Interim Rule to Define Foreign Military Procurement Cost Offsets
Contracting officers would not need to conduct additional analysis of indirect offset cost agreements between a U.S. contractor and a foreign customer.
GSA to Proceed with Cybersecurity Tech Acquisition Program’s 2nd Phase
The agency plans to issue contract modifications for this part of the continuous diagnostics and mitigation program within the next month.
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