China | The Contracting Education Academy

January 22, 2021 By cs

GSA to remove almost all drones from contract offerings over China concerns

By Feb. 1, all but five unmanned aerial vehicles will be removed from the General Services Administration’s offerings.

The General Services Administration — the federal government’s central buyer — will no longer include drones in its suite of offerings, except those previously approved by a small innovation unit inside the Defense Department.

Citing the threat of Chinese manufacturers, GSA officials announced Tuesday the agency will be canceling contracts offering drones from all but five suppliers on the Multiple Award Schedules, the set of pre-vetted contracts that offer everything from paper clips to helicopters to data centers.

“GSA is removing all identified drones that are not approved through the [Defense Innovation Unit’s] Blue sUAS program from MAS contracts,” a GSA spokesperson told Nextgov. “Affected vendors will be notified by their contracting officer and only the identified drones will be removed from their MAS contract.”

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/cybersecurity/2021/01/gsa-remove-almost-all-drones-contract-offerings-over-china-concerns/171352/

January 5, 2021 By cs

More guidance on contracting prohibition with entities using telecom equipment and services

Federal agencies, particularly the General Services Administration (GSA), continue to publish guidance relating to the prohibitions of Section 889 of the FY 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

Section 889 prohibits the federal government from obtaining, and federal contractors from using, certain telecommunications equipment and services offered by Chinese companies, such as Huawei and ZTE. Previous posts on Section 889 are available here, here, here, and here.

More recently, GSA published a series of resources for federal contractors, including webinar slides and an updated Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) guide to provide details regarding GSA’s implementation of Section 889.

These resources give federal contractors insight into GSA’s strategy for implementing Section 889, and they help to resolve some of the ambiguities and administrative uncertainties contained in the interim rule.

Read some of the highlights from these resources at: https://www.mondaq.com/unitedstates/government-contracts-procurement-ppp/1013820/more-gsa-guidance-on-section-88939s-prohibition-on-contracting-with-entities-using-certain-telecommunications-equipment-and-services

November 20, 2020 By cs

What lessons can public and private sector organizations share on cybersecurity?

In the midst of receiving the results of the 2020 presidential election, we’re faced with a potential administration change.

As such, we’re entering a period of transition that raises questions about the best way to protect our nation’s digital infrastructure from nefarious actors wishing to cause harm to our systems.

While comparing the difference between how the private sector operates versus the public sector, the past few years have brought into sharp focus the benefits and drawbacks of how each approach cybersecurity. And looking forward, we see a more intertwined fate of both, as sophisticated and brazen cyberattacks deploy similar TTPs (techniques, tactics and procedures).

After all, phishing and ransomware campaigns don’t care whether you have a .com, .gov or .org email address, and non-state eCrime actors are taking advantage of remote working conditions whether you work for a corporation, city government or a federal agency.

In fact, since March 2020, CrowdStrike has observed a 330% increase from cyber threat actors deploying malicious files using COVID themes. And in the six months from January to June, CrowdStrike’s threat hunting team, OverWatch, observed more hands-on-keyboard intrusions than were seen throughout all of 2019.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.fedscoop.com/transition-coming-lessons-can-public-private-sector-organizations-share-cybersecurity/

October 5, 2020 By cs

New Pentagon initiative aims to help allies, contractors work together on AI

New tools are planned to help various militaries and defense companies cooperate and interoperate on artificial intelligence.

To better compete with China and Russia in developing artificial intelligence, the Defense Department will launch a new partnership with defense organizations from more than 10 nations, with more expected to join over the coming year, Defense Secretary Mark Esper recently announced.

The AI Partnership for Defense will “create new frameworks and tools for data sharing, cooperative development, and strengthened interoperability” across partner militaries, Esper said at the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center’s Symposium. It will also help embed awareness and understanding of AI into contracting and training for personnel working in areas that include AI.

More details, including which nations will initially join the partnership, will become available soon, a Defense Department senior official said on background.

Esper said the Pentagon’s approach to AI development is more grounded in democratic values than those of China and Russia. “We are pioneering a vision for emerging technology that protects the U.S. Constitution and the sacred rights of all Americans. Abroad, we seek to promote the adoption of AI in a manner consistent with the values we share with our allies and partners: individual liberty, democracy, human rights, and respect for the rule of law, to name a few,” he said.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2020/09/new-pentagon-initiative-aims-help-allies-contractors-work-together-ai/168343/

September 29, 2020 By cs

Pentagon acquisition chief hints Section 889 supply chain waiver may be extended

The Pentagon and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence are discussing extending a waiver that gives the defense industrial base more time to ensure certain noncritical weapons systems comply with a new rule aimed at excising Chinese telecommunications equipment from the supply chain, according to the Defense Department’s acquisition chief.

Undersecretary for Acquisition and Sustainment Ellen Lord talked briefly about implementation of Section 889 Part B, a provision of the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act, during a Defense News Conference. Her remarks came a day ahead of a feedback webinar the General Services Administration will host to solicit questions, comments and concerns from stakeholders about Section 889 implementation.

“So what we did is we got a waiver from ODNI for noncritical weapons systems,” Lord said. “We continue to discuss an extension beyond September of that with them.”

Part B of Section 889 officially went into effect August 13, about a month after the final version of the rule was released in July. The rule prohibits federal agencies from contracting with entities that use equipment from certain covered companies including Huawei and ZTE. In effect, Part B requires contractors to search through their supply chains to determine and disclose to the government whether they use any of the covered equipment or services.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/cio-briefing/2020/09/pentagon-acquisition-chief-hints-section-889-supply-chain-waiver-may-be-extended/168332/

By Feb. 1, all but five unmanned aerial vehicles will be removed from the General Services Administration’s offerings.

Federal agencies, particularly the General Services Administration (GSA), continue to publish guidance relating to the prohibitions of Section 889 of the FY 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

In the midst of receiving the results of the 2020 presidential election, we’re faced with a potential administration change.

New tools are planned to help various militaries and defense companies cooperate and interoperate on artificial intelligence.

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