Short Takes – 10-3-23

CISA implements OASIS CSAF 2.0 standard to security advisories for ICS, OT, medical devices. IndustrialCyber.co article. Pull quote: “With this strategy in consideration, CISA now provides machine-readable CSAF documents alongside every new ICS Advisory and those dating back to 2017, the CISA executives wrote. “Our ICS CSAF advisories will be located within the human-readable advisories themselves, or directly via CISA’s GitHub CSAF repository. This shift to CSAF format will also drive other vulnerability response and coordination initiatives at CISA to automate and streamline the drafting and publication process for these ever increasing and critical ICS Advisories,” they added.”

Batteries Will Not Solve Renewable Energy Storage Problem, Says Royal Society. DailySceptic.org article. Pull quote: “The report, lacking a practical answer to wind and solar intermittency, seems to have been ignored by mainstream media. The news that batteries cannot play any significant part in the collectivist Net Zero project is unwelcome to those who have been betting the ranch on this solution for many years. Francis Menton of the Manhattan Contrarian sees the report as an “enormous improvement” on every other effort on the subject of large scale energy storage systems. But in the end, the authors’ “quasi-religious commitment” to a fossil-free future leads them to minimise and divert attention away from critical cost and feasibility issues. “As a result, the report, despite containing much valuable information, is actually useless for any public policy purpose,” he concludes.”

Starfish Space wins NASA contract to plan demonstration of orbital debris inspection. GeekWire.com article. Pull quote: ““This type of mission would entail rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO) and the detailed characterization of the debris,” he said. “Before any disposal mission can commence, an inspection acts as a preliminary step. It’s essential to first inspect the object, gather relevant data and pinpoint potential docking sites.””

NTSB shares update on Teutopolis wreck, chemical spill during press conference. MyWabashValley.com article. Pull quote: “The tank containing 7,000 gallons anhydrous ammonia, a chemical known primarily in industrial and agricultural uses, lost 4,000 gallons of that ammonia after a hole six inches in diameter was created from the wreck.”

Federal Acquisition Regulation: Cyber Threat and Incident Reporting and Information Sharing. Federal Register DOD, GSA, and NASA NPRM. Summary: “DoD, GSA, and NASA are proposing to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to partially implement an Executive order on cyber threats and incident reporting and information sharing for Federal contractors and to implement related cybersecurity policies.” Comments due December 4^th, 2023.

Federal Acquisition Regulation: Standardizing Cybersecurity Requirements for Unclassified Federal Information Systems. Federal Register DOD, GSA, and NASA NPRM. Summary: “DoD, GSA, and NASA are proposing to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to partially implement an Executive Order to standardize cybersecurity contractual requirements across Federal agencies for unclassified Federal information systems, and a statute on improving the Nation's cybersecurity.” Comments due December 4^th, 2023.

Positive Train Control Regulations About Emergency Rerouting. Federal Register FRA notice. Summary: “The purpose of this notice is to inform the public about FRA's regulations permitting railroads to temporarily reroute a train equipped with a positive train control (PTC) system onto a track not equipped with a PTC system, in the event an emergency prevents usage of the regularly used track. This notice contains information about the process a railroad must follow to notify FRA and/or obtain FRA's approval, depending on the duration of the rerouting.”

House makes history, removes McCarthy as Speaker. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: “No votes are expected in the House the rest of the week, and Republicans said they would meet to select their pick for Speaker next Tuesday.”