DoD | The Contracting Education Academy

January 15, 2021 By cs

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.

“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

December 24, 2020 By cs

Pentagon announces 7 procurements to test out new CMMC process

The Defense Department on Thursday disclosed the first seven contracts that are likely to be the initial test cases for the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program, DoD’s new approach to shoring up its suppliers’ IT security.

The department stopped short of a full commitment to subject the forthcoming Navy, Air Force and Missile Defense Agency procurements to CMMC’s requirements.

In a statement, DoD said only that they are “candidates” under consideration to serve as pathfinders.

The projects, as described by the Pentagon, are:

Navy

Integrated Common Processor
F/A-18E/F Full Mod of the SBAR and Shut off Valve
Yard services for the Arleigh Burke Class destroyer

Air Force

Mobility Air Force Tactical Data Links
Consolidated Broadband Global Area Network Follow-On
Azure Cloud Solution

Missile Defense Agency

Technical Advisory and Assistance Contract

The department did not immediately provide further details on the procurements beyond the descriptions above, but said each of the contracts are expected to be awarded in fiscal 2021.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/defense-main/2020/12/pentagon-reveals-first-contracts-to-serve-as-pathfinders-for-cmmc/

December 22, 2020 By cs

Defense contractors charged and sentenced for Turkey-based defense contracting fraud scheme

Multiple defense contractors have been charged and/or sentenced for participating in a multi-million-dollar defense contracting fraud scheme based out of Turkey.

According to U.S. Attorney Byung J. (“BJay”) Pak, the charges, and other information presented in court:

Murat Gonenir, along with at least two other defendants, participated in an extensive Turkey-based scheme to defraud the U.S. military.
The defendants applied for and obtained access to a sensitive Department of Defense (DoD) contracting database housing some of the military’s most sensitive schematics, which is only lawfully accessible by U.S. and Canadian citizens or permanent residents.
Once the defendants obtained access to the database, they downloaded thousands of sensitive schematics for parts such as a handle casting for an 105 millimeter tray assembly for an AC-130H Gunship, and catapult/arresting gear for Nimitz and Forrestal Class aircraft carriers.
Gonenir obtained access to this sensitive database by falsely claiming he was a U.S. or Canadian citizen or permanent resident.
The defendants offered bids on numerous defense contracts for these sensitive schematics that required them to produce these parts in the United States. Instead, they produced these parts in Gonenir’s manufacturing plants in Turkey and then falsely claimed to the DoD that the parts had been lawfully produced in the United States.

The DoD paid millions of dollars to the various defense contractors who took part in this scheme as a result of these false statements.

DoD testing revealed that various parts produced at Gonenir’s plants were of such inferior design that they could have resulted in serious injury or death to U.S. military personnel if the parts had been put into production. Several members of the conspiracy were told that DoD testing had determined that at least one of the parts had failed inspection. However, the defendants kept producing parts in Turkey and falsely claiming the parts were produced in the United States.

The defendants and their sentences are as follows:

Murat Gonenir, 59, of Cankaya, Turkey was sentenced to three years, five months in prison and three years of supervised release, and he was ordered to pay $1,487,950.77 in restitution and a special assessment of $100.
Batur Ustol, 61, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced to two years and six months in prison and three years of supervised release for his role in the conspiracy, and he was ordered to pay $100,000 in restitution and a special assessment of $100 in a related matter.
Suleyman Sevket Bayraktar, 43, of Fountain Valley, California, was sentenced to six months in prison, six months of home confinement, and three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $161,925 in restitution and a special assessment of $100.

This case was investigated by the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry & Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and DoD’s Criminal Investigative Service.

December 9, 2020 By cs

Combat simulators should also improve acquisition, DoD leader says

Members of the defense industry working on modeling and simulation should focus on building tools that can be used across multiple different functions in order to not only improve training, but accelerate acquisition and fielding timelines, according to a Defense Department official.

“Think about software that will allow us to support acquisition development, training of troops, and test all simultaneously,” Alan Shaffer, deputy defense undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment, said Dec. 1st.

Modeling and simulation is used to train warfighters on virtual battlefields. Advancement in modeling and simulation technologies powered by digitization and open systems should enhance training from individual warfighters all the way up to the force level as well as revolutionize design, acquisition, sustainment and test, Shaffer said during the National Training and Simulation Association’s annual Interservice, Industry, Training, Simulation, and Education Conference.

“We are now seeing the evolution from single platform simulators and single purpose simulations to advanced multi-platform virtual systems,” Shaffer said. “But beyond that, there is also a strong convergence in modeling and simulation capabilities being driven by the technological revolution, and the digitization of the world, and the promise of open systems.”

Keep reading this article at: https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2020/12/dod-needs-simulations-shorten-acquisition-timelines-official-says/170380/

December 8, 2020 By cs

What DoD’s cyber certification program reveals about info-sharing challenges

As the new regime takes effect, the tech industry’s lead trade association would rather higher level certifications be done by the department than independent third parties.

The Information Technology Industry Council is arguing that the foundation of U.S. cybersecurity policy — information sharing between organizations — presents a security threat that is too costly for many to address in response to a rule implementing the Pentagon’s Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Program.

The CMMC program was designed to change the Defense Department’s practice of having contractors simply attest to their own level of cybersecurity and institute a system of third-party auditors to validate required practices are in place.

The department’s Defense Contract Management Agency currently conducts audits of contractors’ cybersecurity through Defense Industrial Base Cybersecurity Assessment Center, or DIBCAC, assessments. But Katie Arrington, the DoD official heading up the CMMC program, said a new ecosystem of private third-party assessors is necessary to scale such reviews across all of the approximately 300,000 companies the department relies on.

Organizations hoping to work with the Defense Department would be required to obtain certification through an accreditation body that entered into a no-cost contract with the Defense Department on Nov. 25. The currently all-volunteer organization will be funded through fees it receives from assessors it trains to conduct audits and individuals it approves as qualified to consult with prospective contractors on CMMC requirements.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/cybersecurity/2020/12/what-dods-cyber-certification-program-reveals-about-info-sharing-challenges/170400/