access | The Contracting Education Academy

After a years long pilot, the Defense Department is establishing a permanent program that will let some trusted companies in on critical military information to help build needed systems.

“As the world sees a return to great power competition, DoD must strengthen its engagement with the defense industrial base in order to respond to the national security challenges facing the United States in a more responsive and cost efficient manner,” a Dec. 15 memo signed by Pentagon acquisition chief Ellen Lord states.

The memo goes on to state that, increasingly, technologies and information are squirreled away in special access programs.

Those are programs that exceed regular classified information and entail highly sensitive operations and black projects.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/dod-reporters-notebook-jared-serbu/2021/01/dod-stands-up-permanent-program-to-give-vendors-access-to-top-tier-secrets/

Download the Dec. 15, 2020 DoD memo on the subject of “Special Access Program Contractor Portfolio Program Establishment” at: https://fas.org/irp/doddir/dod/sap-contractor.pdf

A review of cloud computing services in the Commerce Department found missing clauses in contractors’ agreements to permit reviews of their facilities and operations, as well as lack of compliance with federal security standards.

In examining a sample of cloud service contracts from three bureaus, the department’s inspector general found that four did not contain a specific Commerce Department clause that would allow its investigators access to the provider’s facilities, installations, operations, documentation, databases and personnel that would be used to perform such services. As a result, the IG would not be able to conduct inspections, investigations, audits and other reviews.

Additionally, one contract did not contain a Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) clause that would permit the agency access to a service provider’s installations, documentation, records and databases, which is needed to make sure that government data remains secure and confidential, according to an IG memo dated Oct. 14, 2014.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.fiercegovernmentit.com/story/commerce-ig-cloud-service-contracts-lack-needed-clauses-security-standards/2014-10-20

DoD bringing companies into the fold for sensitive info

After a years long pilot, the Defense Department is establishing a permanent program that will let some trusted companies in on critical military information to help build needed systems.

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