45th Space Wing launches NRO satellite on board Atlas 5

by 45th Space Wing
Public Affairs Office

5/22/2014 - CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla.  -- The 45th Space Wing successfully launched a United Launch Alliance-built Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at 9:09 a.m. May 22 carrying a classified national security payload.

The payload was designed and built by the National Reconnaissance Office.

The 45th Space Wing commander was pleased with the performance of the team for this launch.

"This is the culmination of a lot of long hours and hard work by the entire mission team, which included the wing, NRO, ULA and other mission partners," said Brig. Gen. Nina Armagno, who also served as the mission Launch Decision Authority.

"This successful launch helps to ensure that vital NRO resources will continue to bolster our national defense while showcasing why the 45th Space Wing is the world's premiere gateway to space," Armagno said.

"We look forward to many more successful launches along the beautiful Space Coast during the rest of 2014," she added.

Lackland Network Support Squadron tests new virtual helpdesk app

by Senior Airman Lynsie Nichols
502nd Air Base Wing Public Affairs

5/21/2014 - JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas -- The personnel at the 690th Network Support Squadron at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland Kelly Field Annex are working hard to put an end to long periods of telephone waiting time with a new product called the Virtual Enterprise Service Desk.

The product, also known as vESD, is a client-based application that serves as a communication platform between the Air Force Enterprise Service Desk and all 850,000 plus users in the Air Force network. Currently, the product is going through a trial period and is expected to be released in October 2014.

The ESD provides computer related support to all Air Force military and civilian personnel. The 690th NSS is responsible for establishing, operating and maintaining the ESD.

"This tool helps modernize cyber operations across the Air Force," said Lt. Col. Mark Reith, 690th NSS unit commander. "It brings the Air Force into industry standards and allows us to use our precious human resources more effectively."

Work on the application began in March 2014 when the 690th NSS partnered with the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center and the Air Force Integration Center. AFLCMC is the program management office and AFNIC is the cyber engineering center for the Air Force.

The 690th NSS invited a mix of personnel with different levels of computer based knowledge from across JBSA and the Air Force Personnel Center to test the beta version of vESD at the ESD facility located at JBSA-Lackland Kelley Field Annex, May 16, 2014.

"Our goal is to demonstrate the product and allow users to provide feedback on its functionality and the ease of using the program," said Jessie Mues, 690th NSS information specialist.
Currently, when users experience computer network issues, they must submit a trouble ticket over the phone to the ESD, where wait times can be long depending on call volume.

"For issues that are beyond minor, the user will submit an electronic ticket through the [vESD] to request help, in which case the technician can remotely access the computer to fix the issue," Reith said. "This will be a major culture shift from the traditional route of calling a centralized ESD phone number, but will make the ESD much more efficient by providing all of the crucial information up front."

Michael Ward, 690th NSS flight chief of plans and requirements, added, "Once this application becomes available, phone calls will no longer be necessary except for extreme cases where connectivity is completely lost."

The vESD will benefit the Air Force as a whole by educating and empowering users to resolve their own issues as well as get status updates on existing trouble tickets and allow them to provide feedback. It will also cut-back on call time allowing more time for productivity.

"The vESD project leverages the consolidation and standardization that the Air Force network architecture provides, and in doing so helps realize unprecedented efficiencies," Reith said.
"I am excited about this product and it's potential," Ward added. "The vESD is the future of the Air Force help desk."

President of Higher Education Software Provider Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Hack into Competitors’ Computer Systems

The president and chief executive officer of Virginia-based Symplicity Corporation pleaded guilty today to conspiring to hack into the computer systems of two competitors to improve his company’s software development and sales strategy.

Acting Assistant Attorney General David A. O’Neil of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia and Special Agent in Charge Adam S. Lee of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton in the Eastern District of Virginia.

Ariel Manuel Friedler, 36, of Arlington, Virginia, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to access a protected computer without authorization.   Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 1, 2014 before U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga in the Eastern District of Virginia.

“The Department of Justice is committed to protecting the intellectual property and private information of our citizens and businesses from economic espionage,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General O’Neil.   “Hackers who think they can anonymously steal confidential information from competitors’ computer systems should take note: we will investigate you, and we will prosecute you.”

“We are committed to working with our law enforcement partners to protect American businesses from intellectual property theft, whether the threat comes from an international or domestic source,” said U.S. Attorney Boente.  “This case should send a clear message:  We will aggressively prosecute criminals who attempt to steal confidential business information while hiding behind a cloak of anonymity.”
“This was a complex investigation involving senior executive management of the Symplicity Corporation who used sensitive customer login credentials to gain unauthorized access to their competitor’s computer networks” said Special Agent in Charge Lee.  “These actions caused significant harm to their competitors and ultimately gave Symplicity an unfair business advantage.  Although many victim businesses seek civil remedies in situations like this, reporting breaches of business computer networks to law enforcement is crucial towards combating these types of crimes.”
According to court records filed with the plea agreement, Symplicity provides student disciplinary records management services to colleges and universities.   Friedler conspired with two other Symplicity employees between 2007 and 2011 to hack into the computer systems of two companies that competed with Symplicity’s business.  Friedler and others decrypted account passwords of former customers, and Friedler hid his IP address using TOR, a network of computers used to encrypt and anonymize online communications.   Friedler then accessed customer contacts and viewed the proprietary and confidential software design and features of competitors Maxient LLC and a second company, identified in court documents as “Company A,” to inform Symplicity’s software development and sales strategy.

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Richmond Field Office.   Trial Attorney Peter V. Roman of the Criminal Division ’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander T.H. Nguyen of the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting the case.

Renewable Energy Initiatives

By Capt. Pat Rios

Director, CNIC Facilities and Environmental

Throughout the Navy Shore enterprise, we’re engaging in renewable initiatives.  These range from a public-private geothermal power plant that provides enough power for 180,000 homes in California, to replacing nearly 2,000 street and parking lights with Solar LED lights on Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. This provides an annual energy savings that equals the cost of 300 flight hours for an F/A-18.

Capt. David Owen, left, commanding officer of Fleet Activities Yokosuka, inspects recently installed solar panels at Sullivan Elementary School, Aug. 22, 2012. The solar panels are a building integrated photovoltaic system, which is estimated to contribute $297,000 in projected annual energy savings at the installation. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Matthew R. Cole/Released)

In Hawaii, where energy expenses have been historically high, Naval Facility Engineering Command, in partnership with Navy Region Hawaii, is pursuing a power purchase agreement, giving us the ability to purchase up to 56MW of photovoltaic power on the island of Oahu. These are just first steps, as we continue to look for places where we can invest in renewable energy ashore where it makes financial and operational sense.

Energy is a strategic imperative. By making investments in our people, buildings and utility systems, we will become more energy efficient, thereby reducing operating costs and diverting the savings to other Navy priorities like fleet operations and training. The savings is significant – and it is savings that will go toward more fuel for our ships and aircraft, better training, and newer, better equipment. You, the Sailor, the civilian, the Navy family member, even the contractor – can help us conserve and invest in tomorrow, today.

DARPA Innovations Advance National Security

By Cheryl Pellerin

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, May 21, 2014 – The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Information Innovation Office, or I2O, is hosting DARPA Demo Day 2014 in the Pentagon’s courtyard today to highlight the agency’s ongoing contributions to preserving and expanding the Defense Department’s information technology superiority.

The Pentagon event has a focus on information technology and it showcases more than 100 projects that push for game-changing improvements to national security. IT, according to DARPA, is a key enabler for DOD and has been a focus area for DARPA since its establishment in 1958.

“The information revolution has been a huge boon to society,” I2O Director Daniel Kaufman said, adding, “but our growing dependence on information networks also means that information is today’s tactical and strategic high ground, increasingly targeted by adversaries from everyday criminals to networked terrorists who would do our nation mortal harm.”

Kaufman said I2O’s mission is to ensure the safety and reliability of essential information technologies against challenges the nation faces today and those in the future.

DARPA contributions include its development and prototyping of technology for what is now the Internet.

The DOD currently enjoys IT superiority, according to a DARPA press statement, but that superiority can’t be taken for granted.

The Pentagon event showcases an array of DARPA projects designed, as DARPA officials describe it, to quickly and profoundly change the way the nation addresses growing national security challenges posed by the information revolution and by the increasing global availability of sophisticated information technologies.

DOD officials, defense contractors and invited public-sector innovators heard DARPA program managers and project principals describe their progress toward game-changing advances in areas such as cybersecurity, networked warfighter systems, language translation and decision support.

Together, according to the DARPA statement, the displays pointed to a future in which networks will be increasingly resilient to natural and human-launched threats. And in that future, lightning-fast detection of emergent, information-related irregularities, including potential threats, will inform equally fast correctives and countermeasures.

Advanced data analysis, automation and fusion technologies will enable the timely extraction of actionable, previously inaccessible insights from mountains of raw information, DARPA says, and enable sharing those insights through cutting-edge collaboration, data visualization and user-interface technologies.

The event highlighted 29 programs in four categories. Cyber includes approaches to maintaining IT systems safety and security. Big Data includes tools to facilitate the use of information at scale.

Language includes translation technologies to help warfighters communicate more effectively in foreign-language environments. And warfighter apps, which include other initiatives of great interest to DOD, such as the Revolutionizing Prosthetics program in DARPA’s new Biological Technologies Office.

Among the I2O programs on display were the following:

-- DARPA Cyber Grand Challenge, CGC: To be launched this summer, CGC will be the first-ever tournament for testing fully automatic network defense systems. The competition’s goal is to vastly improve the speed, scale and effectiveness of IT security against escalating cyber threats.

-- High-Assurance Cyber Military Systems, HACMS: Seeks to protect networked, embedded IT systems from cyberattack by creating semi-automated systems that build software according to formal methods and check that the created code is secure and works as intended.

-- Big Mechanism: Aims to leapfrog state-of-the-art big-data analytics by developing automated technologies to help explain causes and effects that drive complicated systems. Initial efforts will focus on research relating to cancer pathways.

-- Memex: Seeks to develop next-generation search technologies and revolutionize the discovery, organization and presentation of public-domain search results. Initially, DARPA intends to develop Memex to address fighting human trafficking.

-- Broad Operational Language Translation, BOLT: Seeks to create new techniques for automated translation and linguistic analysis that can be applied to informal text and speech common in online and in-person communication.

At DARPA, Kaufman said, “we help make the tools of the information revolution more powerful and useful, not just for those who ensure our security but also for the people and nations they protect.”

DARPA to Showcase Latest Cyber, Big Data Ideas

By Amaani Lyle

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, May 19, 2014 – The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency will display more than 100 projects and 29 programs in the Pentagon’s courtyard May 21 to demonstrate cybersecurity technologies and spark feedback from warfighters, a DARPA scientist said during a May 16 interview with the Pentagon Channel here.

Daniel Kaufman, DARPA’s Information Innovation Office director, said the ever-changing landscape of network warfare spurs the need for ongoing analysis of and dialogue about network security and greater user empowerment for warfighters in even the most remote locales.

“I want them to see the tools we’re building them to fight better and more effectively,” Kaufman said. “We’re technicians, scientists, and engineers and we build things, but there’s nothing like having somebody in uniform who actually has to use your product give you actual feedback.”

Kaufman described network warfare as a “new war,” with some 98 percent of devices having embedded microprocessors of some type.

“Everything in the world today has a computer -- your phone, your television, all our weapons systems,” Kaufman said. “We see huge promise in it and get benefits from network technology, but how are we going to protect these systems?”

But making forces safer yet more lethal to the enemy requires asking tough and unusual questions, Kaufman explained.

“It’s this cross-over between criminal organizations, terrorist organizations, state actors and non-state actors,” he added, “and the question is what tools do we have to create a new map?”

Kaufman said he and his team wondered about the possibility of creating software that was smart enough to contend with the best hackers in the world. He recounted an example of an all-computer chess league scientists developed in the 1970s.

“After seven years,” he said, “we beat a grand master, a year after that we beat [Russian Grand master Garry] Kasparov and from then on humans play for second place.”

Beyond the scope of chess, Kaufman noted, a more “human endeavor” such as the popular game show Jeopardy! even had famed contestant Ken Jennings toppled by IBM supercomputer Watson in 2011.

As such, DARPA will emulate Defcon, an annual hacker tournament in Las Vegas, to pit computers against computers and fine-tune network security.

But changing the game on network protection, Kaufman said, requires recognizing that hackers always have the advantage -- in that one breach can attack millions of machines.

“For the most part, either you have a PC or a Mac; we run almost all the same applications so one attack can hit many of us,” he said. “But what if you can make every computer different, much like our immune system, and now the attacker needs a special attack for every computer?”

And while Kaufman acknowledges some information technology officials are leery of the idea, DARPA scientists think they can accomplish this at a low level where attackers enter a system.

He explained that a computer is the only thing people buy that is “fundamentally broken,” since it always requires updates and patches, which can create network fissures that hackers may exploit.

As a result, DARPA scientists have been developing a computer that is designed with security in mind, and by its very construction prevents hackers. But the balancing act between thwarting hackers and enabling users persists.

“If we’re going to empower the military we need to change that dynamic; we have to make it so that you don’t need a Ph.D. in computer science … that you can still use it and program it for your own uses,” Kaufman said.

In big data, Kaufman noted that while the internet typically only indexes about 1 to 5 percent of all searchable information, national security reasons may call for a deeper probe into the web.

“The first thing we’re going after is the scourge of human trafficking,” he said, “and we’re already showing early results and making a dent in [countering it].”

Kaufman also said DARPA is trying to simplify computer language by taking complex programs such as Java, C+, and Haskell, which require extraneous compiling steps, and instead enabling delivery of actual commands.

“What if you could program a computer by actually telling it what you want to do?” Kaufman posited. “In one sense we should get rid of half the errors because now I don’t have to translate it into some weird language. I’m just talking to it.”

Another simultaneous challenge and promise of big data, Kaufman asserts, is assessing and simplifying the complexities of information gathering.

Big Mechanism software, he said, is a program that could read and digest all articles on a searchable topic and bring that information back to the user.

“Imagine that we could create a piece of software that would go out and read all the articles, break it down into all of its constituent parts, build it back into a model and then hand it back to us … and now that goes to a scientist and fundamentally, if we do it right, it’s a brand-new way of doing science.”

DOD shows science, technology success despite hard year for workforce

by Cheryl Pellerin
American Forces Press Service

5/19/2014 - WASHINGTON  -- Despite a year of workforce furloughs and dwindling budgets, the Defense Department's science and technology enterprise reports advances ranging from a full hypersonic weapon system and high-energy lasers to light-based brain treatments and new core capabilities in cyber warfare, senior DOD officials told a Senate panel May 14, 2014.

Alan Shaffer, acting assistant secretary of defense for research and engineering, and Dr. David Walker, deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for science, technology and engineering, testified on defense research and innovation before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense.

Shaffer told the panel the DOD workforce has produced remarkable achievements, but now shows signs of stress due to downsizing-furlough-shutdown challenges of the past year.

"These affected the health of our workforce and the programs they execute in ways we are just beginning to understand," he said. "We have begun to address the challenges but they remain a concern to us."

The fiscal year 2015 science and technology budget request is down about 5 percent, to $11.5 billion compared to fiscal 2014's $12 billion request, Shaffer added.

"(The) DOD tries to balance our program (but) there are factors that led Defense Secretary (Chuck) Hagel to conclude in his Feb. 24 budget rollout that we are entering an era where American dominance on the seas, in the skies and in space can no longer be taken for granted," Shaffer said.

The current budget drives force reduction but this reduction will take several years to yield savings, Shaffer said. In the fiscal 2015 budget, readiness and or modernization will pay a larger percentage of the overall department bill.

"To address the challenges," he added, "we needed to examine the strategy we're using to focus the S&T investment on high-priority areas (and) from that review emerged a strategy for investment."

Shaffer said the DOD invests in science and technology for three reasons:

- To mitigate new and emerging threat capabilities, "and we see a significant need in the areas of electronic warfare, cyber, counter-weapons of mass destruction, and preserving space capabilities."

- To affordably enable new or extended capabilities in military systems and future systems, "and there is a significant need to grow department systems' engineering, modeling, and simulation and prototyping."

- To develop technology surprise, and "we see significant need in areas such as autonomy, human systems, quantum sensing and big data."

Shaffer said despite the challenges, the department continues to perform.

The focused and balanced investments of the Air Force Fiscal 2015 science and technology program are hedges against the unpredictable future and provide pathways to a flexible, precise and lethal force at a relatively low cost in relation to the return on investment, according to Walker.

"The Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics recently reminded us that complacency now and in the future is simply not an option," Walker said.

The Air Force must maintain and expand its technological advantage to ensure freedom of access in air, space and cyberspace, he said.

To that end, the Air Force X-51 Waverider hypersonic demonstration was the second successful demo of powered scramjet technology, he added.

A scramjet, according to technical descriptions, is a variant of a ramjet air-breathing engine but one in which combustion takes place in the craft's supersonic airflow.

This demonstrates "that we are getting close to developing a full hypersonic system," Shaffer said. "No one else in the world has done this."

Staff Sgt. Carlin Leslie contributed to this story.