Short Takes – 3-20-24

Pentagon Received Over 50,000 Vulnerability Reports Since 2016. SecurityWeek.com article. Pull quote: ““The success of the DC3 VDP is a powerful example of how a strong relationship with the global ethical hacker community translates to the consistent strengthening of cyber defenses. As proud partners, we look forward to continued collaboration as ethical hackers work to further strengthen national security,” HackerOne founder and CTO Alex Rice said.” I wonder how many of these were control system vulnerabilities and how many of those were shared with CISA?

Researchers develop tantalizing method to study cyberdeterrence. Sandia.gov article. Pull quote: “At Sandia, the name Tantalus is associated with an experimental multiplayer online war game used to study different conditions within cyberdeterrence strategy. More importantly, the game is a human research study to gather data about how people’s decisions during threatening situations can impact national security.”

SpaceX planning rapid turnaround for next Starship flight. SpaceNews.com article. Pull quote: “The FAA has updated SpaceX’s Starship launch license after every flight to date to reflect changes in the mission, such as the different suborbital trajectory used on the most recent flight. However, Coleman said the agency wants to move to a process where the license is valid for “portfolio of launches” rather than individual ones. That is particularly important, he added, because SpaceX is planning six to nine more Starship launches this year.”

DARPA picks Northrop Grumman to develop 'lunar raiload' concept. Space.com article. Pull quote: “"To get to a turning point faster, LunA-10 uniquely aims to identify solutions that can enable multi-mission lunar systems — imagine a wireless power station that can also provide comms and navigation in its beam," Nayak said. Such work, he added, will accelerate "key technologies that may be used by government and the commercial space industry, and ultimately to catalyze economic vibrancy on the moon."”

Benchmark Space Systems flies first electric thruster. SpaceNews.com article. Pull quote: “On EWS, a 12U cubesat, the millinewton-class Xantus thruster will be used for end-to-end spacecraft operations, including deorbiting at the end of its mission. Benchmark, though, sees the biggest demand for the thruster on larger spacecraft.”