Sat.Jun 22, 2024 - Fri.Jun 28, 2024

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How the CIA is using generative AI — now and into the future

FedScoop

From human intelligence collection to information gathered in the open, the CIA is leveraging generative artificial intelligence for a wide swath of its intelligence-gathering mission set today, and plans to continue to expand upon that into the future, according to the agency’s AI lead. The CIA has been using AI for things like content triage and “things in the human language technology space — translation, transcription — all the types of processing that need to happen in order to

Data 145
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OSC Pushes Congress to Permanently Recognize National Whistleblower Day

Whistleblower Network News

On June 20, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) announced it is advocating for July 30 to be permanently recognized as National Whistleblower Appreciation Day. In a letter to congressional leaders, Special Counsel Hampton Dellinger calls for making this recognition permanent. “The establishment of a permanent Whistleblower Appreciation Day reinforces the longstanding bipartisan consensus that whistleblowers serve an invaluable role in our government,” Dellinger said.

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AWS announces $50 million Generative AI Impact Initiative for public sector organizations

AWS Public Sector

Today, Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced the AWS Public Sector Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) Impact Initiative. The two-year, $50 million investment is designed to help public sector organizations – and those that directly support their technology needs – to accelerate innovation in support of critical missions using AWS generative AI services and infrastructure, such as Amazon Bedrock , Amazon Q , Amazon SageMaker , AWS HealthScribe , AWS Trainium , and AWS Inferentia.

Education 140
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Ultimate Endless Real Estate Costs at Red Lobster

Art of Procurement

Red Lobster is the largest seafood chain in the United States. It buys 20 percent of North American lobster tails. The post Ultimate Endless Real Estate Costs at Red Lobster appeared first on Art of Procurement.

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How to Create a Blueprint for Fleet Resilience

Speaker: Jeff Dickinson - President and CEO of Railgistixs Transport, Supply Chain and Logistics Thought Leader

Despite the ongoing transformation of the supply chain and logistics landscape, the steadfast importance of carrier safety remains a core principle. From prioritizing preventative maintenance to optimizing fleet utilization, the fundamentals persist. If you’re overlooking and neglecting essential safety precautions today, this could result in expensive repairs and potential safety hazards in the future. 🚧 Join Jeff Dickinson for a conversation on how to mitigate risk, enforce compliance,

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Webinar: If the Supreme Court Discards Chevron Deference to Agencies, What Impact Will That Have on Government Procurement Law?

Public Procurement Intl

Click for Free registration click for program information

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Bridging the Civilian-Defense Compliance Divide

FedTech Magazine

Civilian agencies teaming up with defense agencies on IT modernization efforts and sharing systems to improve efficiency are experiencing compliance challenges due to the latter’s higher-level security framework. As a result, civilian agencies may struggle to support the necessary security protocols and data encryption. Agencies may also encounter process disruptions; if the civilian-side workflows don’t align with those on the defense side, interoperability can be difficult to achieve.

More Trending

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The power of procurement data: How one villager unveiled a corruption scandal

Open Contracting Partnership

By Torplus Yomnak, Co-Founder of HAND Social Enterprise and the Director of the Knowledge Hub for Regional Anti-Corruption and Good Governance Collaboration (KRAC) In May 2021, amid the pandemic lockdowns, a villager in Thailand took a stroll on the outskirts of their town, making an unexpected discovery that would stir the local community. There, on an overgrown, vacant plot of land, hidden among tall weeds, stood rows of ornately decorated solar lamp posts.

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DHS releases AI chemical safety recommendations, building off voluntary White House pledges

FedScoop

The Department of Homeland Security has released its long-awaited report focused on reducing the ways artificial intelligence could exacerbate chemical and biological threats. The document, which was finalized in April but only made public after apparent suggestions from presidential advisers , details several new recommendations focused on AI safety, including encouraging the use of additional credentialing for high-risk scientific databases and the creation of standards for “unacceptably dange

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Cloud Vendors Must Consider FedRAMP’s Identity and Authentication Controls

FedTech Magazine

Cloud service providers must ensure they can integrate new federal security and privacy controls into their processes if they want to continue doing business with agencies. The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program revised its security controls baseline to align with Special Publication 800-53 Revision 5 from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and verify that CSPs are protecting operations, assets, other organizations and the nation from cyberattacks, human err

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IonQ Appoints Dean Kassmann as Head of Engineering and Technology Division

ExecutiveBiz

Quantum computing company IonQ has named Dean Kassmann as senior vice president of its newly formed engineering and technology division. The College Park, Maryland-based firm said Friday that Kassmann previously served as vice president of engineering.

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Army CIO Leonel Garciga Receives 2024 Wash100 Award at Potomac Officers Club Summit

GovCon Wire

During the Potomac Officers Club’s Army Summit in mid-June, the service’s Chief Information Officer Leonel Garciga collected his 2024 Wash100 Award from Executive Mosaic CEO Jim Garrettson. Garrettson founded the honor in 2014 in order to properly celebrate the foremost change-makers who are shaping the government contracting field.

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AI will complement State Department’s diplomatic mission, Blinken says

FedScoop

With a dense artificial intelligence inventory and more use cases on the way, the State Department has embraced AI to a greater degree than many of its federal counterparts. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is under no illusions that that embrace won’t cause concerns. Speaking Friday in Washington, D.C., before an auditorium full of State workers and hundreds on a livestream, Blinken addressed those concerns by posing an AI-related hypothetical.

Inventory 111
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Whistleblower Awarded $3 Million After Alleging Concurrent Billing Claims for Critical Surgeries

Whistleblower Network News

On June 24, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas announced that three medical center institutions jointly agreed to pay $15 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by billing Medicare for concurrent heart surgeries. The three institutions are set to pay $15 million, the largest penalty ever for concurrent surgery charges, as part of the settlement, which is the result of a qui tam whistleblower lawsuit.

Demand 107
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SandboxAQ Introduces AI & Quantum-Powered Navigation Technology

ExecutiveBiz

Artificial intelligence and quantum-specializing company SandboxAQ has debuted a new multi-domain navigation product. Suppose a Global Positioning Satellite system is jammed or unavailable.

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Air Force Under Secretary Melissa Dalton to Keynote Potomac Officers Club’s 2024 Air Defense Summit

GovCon Wire

Who Is Melissa Dalton? Melissa Dalton currently serves as under secretary of the Air Force, a role she assumed in May. In this position, she oversees the organizing, training and equipping of the U.S. Air Force and Space Force to aid global military operations.

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Daniel Cavins - Grant Writer

USFCR

Daniel Cavins joined US Federal Contractor Registration (USFCR) in March of 2024, bringing a wealth of experience and a passion for helping organizations thrive. Originally from Metro Detroit, Daniel moved to Tallahassee in 2018 to attend Florida State University College of Law.

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American Home Protect Ordered to Pay Whistleblower $185K in Wages and Retaliation Damages

Whistleblower Network News

On June 20, the U.S. Department of Labor announced that it has ordered American Home Protect LLC to reinstate and pay back wages and compensatory damages to a whistleblower who was fired after reporting deceptive business practices to upper management. American Home Protect LLC is based in Plano, Texas and its parent company, Porch Group Inc. is based in Seattle, Washington.

Utilities 107
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BlueHalo to Build Next-Gen Counter-UAS Missile for Army; Jonathan Moneymaker Quoted

ExecutiveBiz

BlueHalo has been selected to build a next-generation counter-uncrewed aerial systems missile designed to defeat large air threats for the U.S. Army. The company said Thursday it will move forward with developing its NGCM offering in partnership with the Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Aviation & Missile Center Aviation & Missile Technology Consortium.

IT 105
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Amy Johanek Takes on VP of Federal Role at Okta

GovCon Wire

Amy Johanek, formerly area vice president for federal civilian agencies at Splunk, has been appointed VP of federal at identity and access management company Okta (Nasdaq: OKTA), according to her LinkedIn post.

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Toby Fritz - Registration & Contracting Specialist

USFCR

Toby Fritz joined US Federal Contractor Registration (USFCR) as a Registration & Contracting Specialist in February 2024. Growing up in Clearwater and now residing in Tampa, Toby brings a local perspective to his role. His hobbies include golfing, going to the beach, and watching baseball, complementing his professional life with leisure and relaxation.

Contract 104
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IRS Whistleblowers Led to Over $337 Million in Collections in FY 2023

Whistleblower Network News

On June 24, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Office of the Whistleblower released its Annual Report for the 2023 Fiscal Year. During FY 2023, the IRS Whistleblower Program awarded $88.7 million to whistleblowers based on the $337 million the agency was able to collect thanks to whistleblower disclosures. “The IRS appreciates the valuable assistance it has received from whistleblowers and the tremendous support the whistleblower practitioner community provides to the IRS Whistleblower Program,

Finance 103
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GDIT’s Matthew McFadden on 4 Cybersecurity Practices Agencies Should Do to Defend Network Environments

ExecutiveBiz

Matthew McFadden, vice president of cyber at General Dynamics Information Technology, said government agencies and organizations should prioritize four core cybersecurity practices to defend their environments: implementing two-factor and multi-factor authentication, advancing vulnerability and patch management, reducing the attack surface and pursuing active defensive cyber operations.

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GovCon Index Notched Weekly Gain to End Downward Trend

GovCon Wire

Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Index inched lower Friday but the substantial gains in three of four trading sessions averted a fourth straight weekly loss. The index, which tracks the stock performances of 30 major government contractors, advanced 1.89% week-on-week to finish higher at $4,979.17. The S&P 500 (+0.6%) and Nasdaq Composite (+0.

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Implementing Climate Smart Initiatives to Protect the Humanities

USFCR

[…] Disasters come in all shapes and sizes—fires, hurricanes, economic downturns, droughts, virus outbreaks, terrorism. We can’t predict how long the impact will be felt but we can do much to be ready. […] Disasters stretch the limits of community systems. Communities that recover best are […] those that have invested in social fabric, inter-connectedness, physical and emotional infrastructure, and those that have woven bonds between sectors and between citizens.

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Good Timing: SBA Decision on Full-Time Devotion Allows For Two Jobs if No Hours Overlap

SmallGovCon

There are multiple overlaps in SBA’s socioeconomic rules for the 8(a) Program, Women-Owned Small Business Program (WOSB), and the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) Program. One in particular has often caused some confusion for our clients: the full-time devotion requirement. This rule generally requires that the service-disabled veteran owner (or equivalent key owner in the other programs) work full time for the company with the SDVOSB status.

Insurance 103
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Intel Federal’s Steve Orrin Discusses Benefits, Challenges to AI-Powered Analytics at the Edge

ExecutiveBiz

Intel Federal‘s Steve Orrin believes advances in artificial intelligence can provide the military with benefits beyond object identification, offering, instead, enhanced situational awareness by making it possible to process data from various sources and draw connections that human analysts might otherwise miss.

Data 105
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5 Companies Secure Spots on $1.5B WHS Cybersecurity, IT Support Contract

GovCon Wire

Five companies have secured spots on a $1.5 billion contract to provide information technology, cybersecurity and administrative support services to the Washington Headquarters Services.

IT 105
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Core4ce Wins $90M Naval Information Warfare Center Atlantic Contract

WashngtonExec

Core4ce has won a 5-year $90 million Other Transaction Authority Production contract from the Naval Information Warfare Center Atlantic to support its Cyber Security Service Provider operational environments. This contract builds on Core4ce’s partnership with NIWC Atlantic and was preceded by a Defense Health Infrastructure and Application Engineering contract award in 2022, the company said. [.

Contract 103
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The HALO Trust is working with AWS to clear mines faster and save lives in the world’s conflict zones

AWS Public Sector

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is investing $4 million to support the work of the HALO Trust and trial the use of artificial intelligence (AI) with drone imagery to locate minefields and other explosive remnants of war in Ukraine. Innovating with AWS will enable HALO to make wider use of the high-resolution drone footage it collects, including testing machine learning (ML) models for identifying mines.

Capacity 100
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Jason Crager Takes on Quality & Mission Success VP Post at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control

ExecutiveBiz

Jason Crager, a nearly three-decade Lockheed Martin veteran, was appointed vice president of quality and mission success at the defense contractor’s missiles and fire control business.

Quality 105
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Lockheed Books $978M SSC Contract Modification for Next-Gen Missile Warning Satellite Program

GovCon Wire

The U.S. Space Force has awarded Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) a potential five-year, $977.6 million contract modification from Space Systems Command to continue providing development, operational testing and interim contractor support for two future missile warning satellites in geosynchronous orbit. The Department of Defense said Friday the Phase 2.

Contract 104
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BREAKING: Supreme Court Strikes Down Chevron Deference

Government Contracts

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday overturned a decades-old precedent that instructed judges about when they could defer to federal agencies' interpretations of law in rulemaking, depriving courts of a commonly-used analytic tool and leaving lots of questions about what comes next.

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Special Counsel Dellinger to Speak at National Whistleblower Day

Whistleblower Network News

U.S. Special Counsel Hampton Dellinger, head of the Office of Special Counsel, will be speaking at the National Whistleblower Day celebration held on Capitol Hill on July 30. Dellinger was confirmed as Special Counsel in February. The OSC is an independent agency that protects federal employees from prohibited personnel practices, including whistleblower retaliation.

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Anduril Industries Eyeing $1.5B in Fresh Investments to Finance R&D, Manufacturing, Acquisitions

ExecutiveBiz

Discussions are in progress for a new investment into Anduril Industries that could result in the defense sector startup being valued at $14 billion in total, including previous funding, Bloomberg reported Thursday. Unnamed sources have revealed that Anduril seeks to raise $1.

Finance 105
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What happens when a company that didn’t bid files an award protest?

Federal News Network

In a long-running case, a vendor of computer vision software protested a National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency award to systems integrator CACI, which was going to develop its own computer vision software. The protester, Percipient, had not bid. But Percipient did file in the Court of Federal Claims on the basis that the government is obligated to use commercially available products.

Bidding 98
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High Court Enters July With 3 Rulings To Go

Government Contracts

In a rare move, the U.S. Supreme Court will issue opinions into the beginning of July as the court tries to clear its merits docket of three remaining cases dealing with presidential immunity, whether governments can control social media platform's content moderation policies, and the appropriate deadline to challenge agency action.

Media 98