This milestone represents a significant advancement in SealingTech’s ongoing efforts to support Department of War’s (DoW) Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and USCYBERCOM in delivering cutting-edge defensive cyber technologies that enhance mission readiness and operational superiority. Parsons acquired SealingTech in 2023 to bolster the company’s full-spectrum cyber operations solutions for the Defense and Intelligence communities and advance its position as cyber leader in national security.

“Parsons is dedicated to providing exceptional, mission-ready solutions that enable the U.S. military to maintain its position as the world’s most formidable and lethal fighting force,” said Mike Kushin, president of Parsons’ Defense and Intelligence business. “The company’s acquisition of SealingTech, and their JCHK success demonstrates our combined vision to develop exquisite, agile technology that aligns with our customer’s needs and protects national security.”

SealingTech has supported the U.S. Department of War for more than a decade, establishing itself as a trusted delivery partner with more than 500 Cyber Fly-Away Kits deployed to U.S. defense and intelligence customers supporting high-visibility missions critical to national security.

“We’re honored to continue collaborating with DIU and the United States Cyber Command to advance next-generation defensive cyber capabilities that strengthen the warfighter’s tactical advantage,” said Jake Nelson, SealingTech vice president and general manager. “At SealingTech, we take pride in being a trusted and reliable innovator, pushing the boundaries of what is possible in the cyber domain and delivering mission-ready solutions that set the standard for success across the Joint force.”

Source: Parsons

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“It is the honor of a lifetime to have the opportunity to lead the incredible workforce of the Command and the Agency as they support the joint force during this decisive decade,” Lt. Gen. Haugh said. “My priorities— people, innovation, and partnerships — will serve as the foundational values to ensure we continue to execute our mission to deliver outcomes against national priorities in foreign intelligence and cybersecurity.”

Lt. Gen. Haugh began his Air Force career in 1991, by earning his commission and as a distinguished graduate of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps at Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pa. He currently serves as CYBERCOM’s deputy commander, where he directs, synchronizes, and coordinates cyberspace planning and operations to defend and advance national interests in collaboration with domestic and international partners.

In his nearly 32 years of service, Lt. Gen. Haugh brings a wealth of joint service knowledge and experience to the Command and the Agency from assignments including commander, Sixteenth Air Force, Air Forces Cyber and Joint Force Headquarters-Cyber, as commander, Cyber National Mission Force, as CYBERCOM’s director of Intelligence, J2, and as the deputy commander of Joint Task Force-Ares.

Lt. Gen. Haugh expressed gratitude toward U.S. Army Gen. Paul M. Nakasone, Commander, CYBERCOM, Director, NSA/Chief, CSS, for his commitment to the dual-hat mission and workforce under his charge during times of unparalleled global challenges.

“I believe the nation is defended and the future is secured due to his leadership over the past six years,” Lt. Gen. Haugh said. “His loyalty to the nation, duty to the mission, selfless service, integrity and personal courage are admirable.”

Gen. Nakasone expressed that he is fortunate to pass command to a leader who upholds the highest standards of the service and demonstrates immense dedication to the mission.

“Having worked alongside Lt. Gen. Haugh over the past decade, I can personally attest to his steadfast leadership, integrity first mentality, and unwavering sense of duty,” Gen. Nakasone said.

Gen. Nakasone will retire after 37 years of dedicated service to the nation. As Director, NSA/Chief, CSS, Gen. Nakasone leads the nation’s signals intelligence (SIGINT) enterprise ensuring delivery of timely, accurate intelligence insights to warfighters, policymakers, and allies on topics of critical national security importance. As the National Manager for National Security Systems, Gen. Nakasone supports the protection of these systems, the Defense Industrial Base, and U.S. critical infrastructure from cyber threats as well the development of game-changing technologies to provide intelligence advantage.

During his tenure with the Command and the Agency, Gen. Nakasone supported the establishment of CYBERCOM, fostered strategic concepts for cyber operations, and oversaw tighter integration between CYBERCOM and NSA. Additionally, under his leadership the Command and the Agency built closer ties with federal and industry partners. For example, Gen. Nakasone established several NSA organizations, including the Cybersecurity Directorate, the China Strategy Center, and the Cybersecurity Collaboration Center, which now has 750 partners across industry and the Defense Industrial Base. Moreover, Gen. Nakasone spearheaded the development of several successful joint CYBERCOM and NSA teams such as the Russia Small Group, China Outcomes Group and the Election Security Group.

Gen. Nakasone has held command and staff positions across all levels of the U.S. Army and the joint force with assignments in the United States, the Republic of Korea, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

“Serving the nation alongside the CYBERCOM and NSA/CSS workforce has been the highlight of my career,” Gen. Nakasone said. “I am proud to have worked every day with the very best leaders and talented workforce.”

Source: NSA

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“Parsons has assisted in the direction, synchronization, and coordination of full-spectrum cyberspace operations to defend and advance national interests since the Command’s inception,” said Mike Kushin, Parsons’ executive vice president of high consequence missions. “We’re honored to continue supporting CYBERCOM’s critical mission, and further propel cyber infrastructure toward full-spectrum military cyberspace operations that defend and neutralize ongoing threats.”

Technical support provided to CYBERCOM includes tool development, systems engineering, cyber security engineering and operations, exercise support, Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E), Information Technology (IT) solutions, IT lifecycle management, and professional services. Parsons’ cyber enterprise developers have the skills to automate access to targets – allowing operators to focus on their primary mission – and implement user-centric design that puts them in control.

Source: Parsons

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Known as Constellation, the pilot program will enable the flow of new cyber capabilities resulting from high-risk, high-reward cyber science and technology (S&T) research by creating a user-directed, incremental, and iterative pipeline to accelerate the creation, proving, adoption, and delivery of those capabilities into CYBERCOM’s software ecosystem.

“Innovation is core to the command’s strategy, which is why CYBERCOM and DARPA are working more closely than ever to mature emerging tactical and strategic cyber capabilities, and integrate them into operational warfighting platforms,” said Mike Clark, Director of Cyber Acquisition & Technology at U.S. Cyber Command. “Success for Constellation means increasing the speed of transition from DARPA research and development to CYBERCOM for operational use.”

In the research and development community, the “valley of death” is a metaphor commonly used to describe the most difficult phase of transitioning a prototype to an operational capability. Fostering an agile-style pipeline from research to operations becomes essential to addressing the challenges the Department of Defense faces when developing software systems, such as rapidly evolving technology and acceptance and usability for both expert and non-expert providers.

Constellation will provide a framework and create mechanisms to provide virtual and physical infrastructure, people and contracts, sustainment of relationships required to bridge the gap between science and technology, research, development, and operational warfighting capabilities, and feedback to the S&T community regarding evolving cyber threats and mission needs.

“To have the greatest operational and strategic impact, these emergent capabilities must reach operators continuously in short timescales, much shorter than legacy acquisition processes,” said Dr. Kathleen Fisher, director of DARPA’s Information Innovation Office. “We are optimistic about Constellation’s potential to enable long-term sustainment for rapid cyber capability prototyping and integration. Running Constellation projects in parallel with DARPA development can help us reduce risks and transition timelines and overcome the ‘valley of death.’”

Source: DARPA

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During a period of unprecedented geopolitical risk, leading organizations can now use the same advanced technology as US national cyber defenders and global intelligence agencies. SimSpace can compress three years of attacks into 24 hours to ensure the highest levels of mission and defensive readiness.

The Russian war in Ukraine has fueled a near 50% increase in cyberattacks in the first half of 2022. Goldman Sachs predicts a Russian attack on US infrastructure could cost the economy up to $1 trillion. Businesses of national significance are seeking battle readiness for their cyber teams, and are using SimSpace’s high-fidelity range capabilities to improve team and process performance, consolidate tools, and reduce costs.

The C-suite, board members, investors, shareholders, insurers, regulators, and audit committee members are grappling with the need for more concise quantifications of risk posture. Military-grade cyber ranges provide answers to those hard questions, and help businesses make $30 million dollar decisions about changes in key parts of their cyber spending. SimSpace is trusted by the US Government, critical national infrastructure, F2000 organizations, and global intelligence agencies. By deploying the SimSpace Cyber Force Platform, organizations have achieved a 30% reduction in cyber operational costs and a 40% reduction in breaches in their production environments.

SimSpace works to continuously improve the security posture of organizations and governments worldwide, said William Hutchison, former US Cyber Command leader and CEO of SimSpace. “Our Cyber Force Platform evolved from the requirements established by our US national cyber defenders and today drives a 48% time reduction to identify and remediate breaches, as well as a 56% improvement in cyber team retention to help businesses meet their financial objectives and regulatory requirements. We help executives, governments and security teams build world-class infrastructure and find solutions to highly complex cybersecurity challenges. The US government trusts SimSpace to protect their operations and personnel, thwarting sophisticated threat actors.”

Source: SimSpace

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In “Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Affiliated Cyber Actors Exploiting Vulnerabilities for Data Extortion and Disc Encryption for Ransom Operations,” agencies from four nations provide specific examples of IRGC-affiliated cyber actors exploiting Fortinet, Microsoft Exchange and VMware Horizon log4j vulnerabilities to gain initial access to systems. The actors then leveraged the access for disk encryption and data extortion to support ransom operations.

The advisory release is part of a U.S. Government effort to eradicate this malicious activity and hold the IRGC-affiliated actors responsible. The malicious actors are actively targeting a broad range of victims, including entities across multiple U.S. critical infrastructure sectors as well as Australian, Canadian and United Kingdom organizations. The Cybersecurity Advisory provides tactics, techniques and procedures and indicators of compromise.

NSA and its partners recommend that organizations, especially those with ties to critical infrastructure networks, use the guidance to mitigate risk of compromise. A patch has been released for each vulnerability identified in the advisory and the most effective mitigation is to patch and update operating systems, software and firmware.

The agencies also recommend that organizations using Microsoft Exchange servers, Fortinet devices and/or VMware Horizon investigate suspicious activity in their networks using the detection guidance in the advisory.

Read the full report here.

Source: NSA

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Dr. Reggie Brothers, BigBear.ai chief executive officer, said, “We are excited to expand our relationship with the Department of Defense and to assist USCYBERCOM by developing and delivering a web-enabled decision support system that facilitates resource-informed strategic and operational decisions. We look forward to partnering with USCYBERCOM on this important initiative.”

Source: BigBear.ai

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The WOLFDOOR Cross Domain Program Office was established in 2018, with the deployment and fielding of the WOLFDOOR Cross Domain Solution (CDS), a cyber-operations-focused Guard Farm, capable of moving data securely between USCYBERCOM, IC, DoD, and commercial networks. This boundary solution provides robust boundary security and mediation of data and information sources.
USCYBERCOM currently maintains an operation Cross Domain Solution, located at USCYBERCOM- HQ, Fort Meade, MD with a secondary Cross Domain Solution, to be deployed in FY22 at San Antonio, TX.

To meet exponentially growing cyber mission needs, the Command requires expanded infrastructure to meet these mission requirements. The Contractor, in coordination with the Government, shall be responsible for maintaining, replicating, and expanding this infrastructure in support of mission systems.

The Contractor shall interact with multiple components of the Joint Cyber Warfighting Architecture (JCWA), to enable the sharing of information and enable mission planning and analysis. Driven by increasing mission needs, dramatic increases in data flow requests require adequate filter development, security, engineering, and testing resources to ensure transport fidelity. New standards and requirements mandate quick adaptation to technically complex compliance standards. Each disparate geographic location requires its own redundant technical staff, and the infrastructural support necessary to maintain operations.

This RFI is requesting responses from both large and small businesses, including the following subsets: Small Disadvantaged Businesses (SDBs), Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZone) Firms, Certified 8(a), Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSBs) and Women Owned Small Businesses (WOSBs).

Full information is available here.

Source: SAM

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Both nations recently signed a Cyber Training Capabilities Project Arrangement, November 3– this bilateral, international agreement enables U.S. Cyber Command to incorporate Australian Defence Force feedback into USCYBERCOM’s simulated training domain, the Persistent Cyber Training Environment.

The PCTE is a cyber training platform for real-world defensive missions across boundaries and networks; its shared use and development will constantly evolve it and sharpen readiness in cyber tactics, techniques, and procedures.

“This project arrangement is a milestone for U.S.-Australian cooperation. It is the first cyber-only arrangement established between the U.S. Army and an allied nation, which highlights the value of Australia’s partnership in the simulated training domain,” said Elizabeth Wilson, the U.S. signatory and Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Defense Exports and Cooperation. “To counter known and potential adversarial threats, the Army has recalibrated our strategic thinking; we’ve made smart decisions to refocus our efforts to invest in the new, emerging and smart technologies that will strengthen our ability to fight and win our nation’s wars.”

Previously, U.S. and allied cyber forces developed cyber training ranges for specific scenarios that would be used once, a process that could take months. Now, PCTE offers a collaborative training environment, enabling cyber forces around the world to develop and re-use already-existing content and train at the individual and group levels anytime.

“Australia and the U.S. have a strong history of working together to develop our cyber capabilities and train our people to fight and win in cyberspace,” said Australian Army Maj. Gen. Marcus Thompson, the Australian signatory and head of Information Warfare for the Australian Defence Force. “This arrangement will be an important part of the ADF’s training program, and we look forward to the mutual benefits it will bring.”

Partnerships in cyberspace are key to generating and sharing insights of threat actors, enabling mutual defense against cyber attacks, and conducting the operational training necessary to hold adversaries accountable in cyberspace– and such training platforms enable lethal cyber mission forces in defense of U.S. and allied interests.

“Agreements like this one are crucial to the efficiency of our joint modernization,” Wilson said. “They lay the framework for our mutual growth, allowing us to become stronger and more interoperable as allies.”

Source: U.S. Cyber Command

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While the in-person Assumption of Responsibility ceremony had limited attendance due to local health guidelines, the ceremony was also virtual command-wide. Army Gen. Paul M. Nakasone, the Commander of USCYBERCOM and Director of NSA, hosted the ceremony.

“CSM Lyon has and exceptional track record of serving the interests of our troops and their families, and she’ll no doubt apply that here,” said Nakasone. “She represents what makes the senior enlisted leaders so critical to our military, and as the first woman to hold this position here, I know she is a role model for everyone to look up to.”

As the Command Senior Enlisted Leader and Advisor, Lyon is responsible for advocating for military personnel as well as providing guidance to and advising CYBERCOM and NSA/CSS leaders on issues affecting the military workforce.

Addressing the audience, Lyon expressed her gratitude for all who attended and shared her philosophy of leadership moving forward. “I believe leadership is a practice and a skill; something that requires continual commitment. I’m humbled to serve as your Senior Enlisted Leader and Advisor and I look forward to serving and working with you all.”

Before arriving as USCYBERCOM/NSA, Lyon served as the Command Sergeant Major of U.S. Army Cyber Command.

Lyon, a former Arabic linguist, enlisted in the Army in 1991 and has 29 years of experience as a Signals Intelligence Analyst. She has served in high-visibility leadership roles including the Multinational Battlegroup-East Command Sergeant Major for Kosovo Force 17 and Senior Enlisted Leader for U.S. Army Europe. Lyon has one daughter, Army Capt. Alison Emmert, who is currently serving as an Army veterinarian.

Lyon succeeds Marine Master Gunnery Sgt. Scott Stalker, who assumed responsibility as the Command Senior Enlisted Leader for U.S. Space Command.

Source: NSA

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