Philip Raquepau

DISA Expands Thunderdome Zero Trust Program Deployment; Brian Hermann, Quoted. ExecutiveGov discusses the Defense Information Systems Agency's (DISA) expansion of the Thunderdome zero trust program. In 2023, the program was deployed to 15 sites and plans are underway to extend it to 60 more sites in 2024. The program involves four key components: 🔐 Customer security stacks 🔗 Software-defined wide area networking 📴 Secure access service edge capability, and 💯 Application security stacks. Brian Hermann, DISA's director of the cybersecurity and analytics directorate, emphasized the program's role in advancing zero trust architecture, which is crucial for organizational security. DISA has also finalized the contracting process to support the U.S. Coast Guard’s network security improvement efforts through Thunderdome. Versa Networks is at the forefront of enhancing cybersecurity with their pivotal role in DISA's Thunderdome project. Their cutting-edge solutions are setting new standards in securing our nation's digital infrastructure. For more details, you can read the full article here:-https://lnkd.in/gvmhmeCs #DISA #Thunderdome #ZeroTrust #Cybersecurity #versanetworks #channelpartners

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DISA Expands Thunderdome Zero Trust Program Deployment; Brian Hermann, Quoted. ExecutiveGov discusses the Defense Information Systems Agency's (DISA) expansion of the Thunderdome zero trust program. In 2023, the program was deployed to 15 sites and plans are underway to extend it to 60 more sites in 2024. The program involves four key components: 🔐 Customer security stacks 🔗 Software-defined wide area networking 📴 Secure access service edge capability, and 💯 Application security stacks. Brian Hermann, DISA's director of the cybersecurity and analytics directorate, emphasized the program's role in advancing zero trust architecture, which is crucial for organizational security. DISA has also finalized the contracting process to support the U.S. Coast Guard’s network security improvement efforts through Thunderdome. Versa Networks is at the forefront of enhancing cybersecurity with their pivotal role in DISA's Thunderdome project. Their cutting-edge solutions are setting new standards in securing our nation's digital infrastructure. For more details, you can read the full article here:-https://lnkd.in/enBZsRWX #DISA #Thunderdome #ZeroTrust #Cybersecurity #versanetworks #channelpartners

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The American Society of Military Comptrollers (ASMC) Professional Development Institute (PDI) 2024 is next week, working to build unity in the defense financial management community. Swing by booth 202 to talk about truly automating your internal controls, audit, and risk management programs. https://lnkd.in/gg5iHjpu #PDI2024 #PDIdfm #ASMC #DefenseFinancialManagement #DefenseFM #ERM #RiskManagement #audit #internalcontrols

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I took org charts for granted in the military. Whenever we did an exercise, it was always clear who was on what team, and what the team objectives were. A team-based visual chart improved alignment, communication, and situational awareness.   On software development programs, teams can be a matrix of different organizations with different management structures, so creating a similar chart is more complicated. However, I’ve always found it worth the effort. These products help individuals coordinate across teams and provide senior leaders context on the program structure. It’s also super valuable for onboarding new members and making team changes.  Form100Consulting

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Exciting news from SAIC! Our CEO Toni Townes-Whitley discusses the integration of #AI in cyber defense in a recent CNBC interview. Stay tuned for insights on how we are leveraging technology to enhance #CyberSecurity.

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The election is less than 5 months away. Here's 3 reasons I think the CMMC Program final rule will beat it. 𝟭) 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗔𝗱𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁. Since 2021 the DoD has made it a habit to not say much about CMMC. However, back in the Summer of 2023 the DoD was very clear that they sent the CMMC Program proposed rule to the SBA before submitting the rule for regulatory review. That clearly seems like a preemptive step to addressing public comments... 𝟮) 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀. Speaking of public comments, a significant portion of the proposed rule contained responses to public comments received on the 2020 CMMC rule. Typically, public comments receive responses in final rules, not proposed rules. This feels like another preemptive step that has allowed the DoD to take public comments received earlier this year and respond/dismiss them with alacrity. 𝟯) 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲. GAO has analyzed "midnight rulemaking" - the term used for rulemaking in the final year of an administration. It isn't just individual agencies that are eager to complete their work, but also the administration itself and, therefore, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) - the ones responsible for final review of the final rule later this year. 𝟰) 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝗮 𝗯𝗼𝗻𝘂𝘀: 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝘂𝗺𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗼𝗗 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗮𝗽𝗲. There were over 1,800 public comments on the CMMC program proposed rule - 140% more comments than the 2020 CMMC rule. DoD adjudicated comments on a rolling basis as they were submitted which drastically accelerated the process compared to waiting until the end of the comment period. Ripping through such a huge number of comments so quickly suggests that very little of the proposed rule has changed. That's a huge advantage for those companies who have implemented SP 800-171 and are ready for CMMC assessment. For everyone else it's as big as the flashing red warning light has ever been.

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Exciting! Specifically that DoD is emphasizing ATO reciprocity between components and departments. Although the “escape clause” is a little broad: During his keynote at the annual GEOINT Symposium on Wednesday, Pentagon Chief Information Officer John Sherman unveiled a new one-page memorandum signed by Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks on May 2 that directs “testing re-use and reciprocity to be implemented [by DOD authorizing officials] except when the cybersecurity risk is too great.” Attempts to standardize ATO evaluation assessments have been challenged in some key ways as far as I’ve seen. Will be interesting to see if this moves the needle… https://lnkd.in/eyScAvfE

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Great insight from DIRSSP that(in my view) is applicable to all engineers and technologists in the national security sector.

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This is an important step in the right direction to get the impedance matched between DoD customers and Defense Tech players that seek to support the western warfighter. But the demand side is just half the puzzle. #DefenseTech companies need to meet them halfway, with revenue leaders who understand the procurement cycle and process, program managers who understand that the customer need may not nicely line up against your tech roadmap and manufacturing capabilities to deliver on promises made.

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The healthcare crisis on military bases has been building for years, with the shortage of medical providers becoming increasingly dire. Half of Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine installations are in shortage areas and are struggling to recruit and retain doctors, nurses, and other critical clinical staff. This personnel shortage has forced many military patients to seek care off-base at private facilities, which can be inconvenient, more costly, and result in fragmented care. Access to mental health services and specialty treatments like physical therapy has been particularly problematic. The lack of on-base healthcare capacity is negatively impacting military readiness. Troops unable to receive timely diagnosis and treatment face delays in training, deployments, and overall wellness. Military families also suffer, with children and spouses experiencing challenges in getting the care they need. Lawmakers and Pentagon officials are exploring various solutions to address this crisis. Increasing pay and benefits for military medical professionals is one approach to boost recruitment and retention. Public-private partnerships with local healthcare providers are also being considered to expand access. Additionally, there are efforts to leverage virtual health technologies like telemedicine to improve access, especially for mental health services and specialty consultations. This could help mitigate the impact of the provider shortage on military bases. Solving the military healthcare crisis is crucial not only for the well-being of service members and their families, but also for maintaining a fit and ready force. Continued focus and investment in this area will be critical in the years ahead. #MilitaryHealth #HealthCare #MedicalReadiness #VirtualHealth #PublicPrivatePartnerships #MilitaryFamily

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Apparently, you can still submit comments on the CIRCIA rule until 7/3/24 The thing about CIRCIA reporting requirements is that they are "substantially different" than current reporting requirements in DFARS 252.204-7012. As a result, CISA and DoD need to reach some sort of agreement to prevent contractors from juggling multiple reporting requirements (sometimes stemming from the same events). Just a reminder: a recent poll of mine indicated that people would prefer DFARS 7012 to be expanded to include the CIRCIA requirements. We recently did a podcast covering what's required under the proposed rule and ... it's a lot of stuff.

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Kind of false advertising. I took this certificate course because it said “New - May 2024” but it is not new. It has old 2020 material when CMMC was still 5 levels and the newest section covering CMMC 2.0 had incorrect glossary terms. If you want a history lesson of where we were to where we’re going, it might be worthwhile. Just finished "Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC 2.0)" by Cybrary! Check it out: https://lnkd.in/e9Jn7nXi #maturitymodels, #securitymanagement.

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If your company does business with the DOD or is a sub of a company that does, DO NOT wait until the last minute to start on your CMMC 2.0 journey. In very recent past I have consulted with organizations that are in jeopardy of losing revenue due to not having a level 1 assessment completed, let alone certified in level 2. I can help you get there! #CMMC

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The PEO MLB Technology Strategy guides our acquisition and application of technologies that are critically important to the daily operations of the Navy and Marine Corps. Our strategy has five pillars: ⚓ Adopt enterprise services ⚓ Defend our information ⚓ Promote cloud adoption ⚓ Enable an innovative, agile culture ⚓ Propel data-driven decisions PEO MLB’s Technology Strategy provides valuable insight and direction for both the PEO MLB team and our industry partners. Companies interested in partnering with us should review the PEO MLB Technology Strategy to learn about our acquisition and technology priorities to determine if they have a capability that meets our needs. Check out PEO MLB’s Technology strategy at https://lnkd.in/epxmtQyk #PEOMLB #TDO Christine Rodriguez, Mary Thoms, Brandon Wehler,

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New update from the DoD on the CMMC program. “We are moving forward, we’re hoping by the first quarter of calendar year [2025] we’ll be able to start enforcing this and putting this in contracts as we go forward. We just keep plugging along because this has been discovered learning, and they’ve got so many roadblocks that have popped up and so much resistance to this, but we feel this is super important,” - David McKeown, DCIO(CS) & SISO Read the article for more details. #cmmc #dod #cybersecurity

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DISA Expands Thunderdome Zero Trust Program Deployment; Brian Hermann, Quoted. ExecutiveGov discusses the Defense Information Systems Agency's (DISA) expansion of the Thunderdome zero trust program. In 2023, the program was deployed to 15 sites and plans are underway to extend it to 60 more sites in 2024. The program involves four key components: 🔐 Customer security stacks 🔗 Software-defined wide area networking 📴 Secure access service edge capability, and 💯 Application security stacks. Brian Hermann, DISA's director of the cybersecurity and analytics directorate, emphasized the program's role in advancing zero trust architecture, which is crucial for organizational security. DISA has also finalized the contracting process to support the U.S. Coast Guard’s network security improvement efforts through Thunderdome. Versa Networks is at the forefront of enhancing cybersecurity with their pivotal role in DISA's Thunderdome project. Their cutting-edge solutions are setting new standards in securing our nation's digital infrastructure. For more details, you can read the full article here:-https://lnkd.in/ezm7Ts8X #DISA #Thunderdome #ZeroTrust #Cybersecurity #versanetworks #channelpartners

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This is sobering. https://lnkd.in/gmYCzE5K I can see where an organization based on budget and tech complexity might want to adopt a defense-in-depth approach to security, but IMO if you can afford it and bring resources to bear, the perceived inconvenience of a zero-trust approach is far, FAR better to protect your assets and your customer data (PII/PHI/etc.) From an interest-balancing perspective, NOT being in the news is worth what some might see as bothersome. Every IT professional's goal should be "stay out of the news."

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It looks like the hemming and hawing is coming to an end. Things are progressing. There is no more denying the existence and enforcement of the CMMC rule in the very near future. Get prepared. If you don't know how or where to start, I would recommend having a conversation with an External Service Provider like Summit 7. If you want to talk today, reach out to Brittany Etherly to start the conversation.

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