FCW Insider: Jan. 28

As the Senate impeachment trial of President Donald Trump dominates headlines, the American Federation of Government Employees wants to quash a policy of the Office of Special Counsel designed to tamp down on talk of impeachment in the federal workplace. Adam Mazmanian has more.

A bill that would give the Department of Justice new tools to prosecute botnet operators quietly passed through the Senate Judiciary Committee in December 2019. While botnet traffic is a growing problem in the age of Internet of Things, but some critics say the scope of the legislation is too wide. Derek B. Johnson reports.

The U.S. military is investigating the cause of the crash of a highly specialized U.S. Air Force E-11A communications aircraft in Afghanistan's Ghazni Province. The aircraft carries a system that provides a communications net over rough terrain and helps resolve data interoperability issues among fighter aircraft platforms. Adam has more on this story.

Quick Hits

*** The Space Development Agency is looking for ideas on the use of mesh networking to support military space capabilities, according to a request for information posted Jan. 27. This RFI is one solicitation of many expected to arise from a Broad Agency Announcement released Jan. 21 that looks to address network, communications, tracking, navigation and deterrence in low earth orbit.

*** According to multiple press reports, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson plans to allow Chinese firm Huawei a role in the country's 5G infrastructure. A State Department official told reporters at a briefing earlier this month that the U.S. would "reassess" how it shares intelligence with countries that welcome Chinese vendors into their 5G networks. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) is pushing a bill that would ban intelligence sharing between the U.S. and countries that use Huawei in their 5G network. Such a ban could dramatically alter the "Five Eyes" intelligence sharing alliance that includes the U.S., Great Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.