FCW Insider: Dec. 4

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced senior advisor Kristina Littman will lead a cyber unit that has increasingly focused on unregulated and fraudulent cryptocurrency activity. Derek B Johnson has more on Littman and her new role. 

A recently launched opioid addiction treatment website shows what the reorganized Technology Transformation Services can deliver. Mark Rockwell reports on both the process and the end product. 

As the risks of electronic warfare attacks multiply, the Army's C5ISR Center is developing new tools for testing and hardening its battlefield systems. Lauren C. Williams went to Aberdeen to see what that research looks like. 

A collection of tech companies seeking to push new cyber norms is working with the United Nations to launch a new initiative asking young entrepreneurs to develop technologies that will foster digital peace. Derek details the Cybersecurity Tech Accord effort.

Quick Hits

*** Nominations for the 2020 Federal 100  are now being accepted.  Troy K. Schneider details what makes for a compelling submission -- get started on yours today.

*** FirstNet now has one million subscribers and serves over 10,000 public safety organizations across the country. 

In a Dec. 3 statement, the First Responder Network Authority and AT&T, which provides the national dedicated wireless network, also noted that more than 100 kinds of devices are now supported.  

FirstNet also has added a stationary aerostat, or blimp, that can be deployed in disaster areas for up to two weeks to provide cell services to stricken areas. The blimp joins 75 Satellite Cells on Wheels and Flying Cells on Wings™ (COWs) in the FirstNet fleet of deployable network assets for emergency areas, according to the statement. 

*** The Federal Communications Commission is slowly lurching toward an all-electronic fee payment portal. In a Federal Register notice, the FCC said it will close its Post Office lockbox used to process manual fee payments for services through the Office of Engineering and Technology, including experimental radio services, assignment of grantee codes, advance approval of subscription TV systems and certification of equipment approval services. After Jan. 2, 2020, the agency will only accept payments through its Fee Filer Online System, part of a larger push to implement e-filing for all payment services. 

*** By the end of 2022, agencies must manage virtually all records electronically, and the National Archives and Records Administration will stop accepting new paper records.  That digital transition is a massive undertaking, and will require agencies to fundamentally re-think how they process and manage documents and electronic content. Tomorrow's FCW event on electronic records readiness will dig into what's required -- sign up to attend.