Short Takes – 8-15-24

Putin faces dilemma on Kursk after ‘tremendous’ blow from Ukraine, says ex-ambassador. TheHill.com article. “Pull quote: “McFaul said it’s “striking” that there’s been no significant response from Russia to the offensive. He said the Russian military usually “carpet bombs” cities, killing many civilians and nonmilitary targets, when they want to liberate territory. That’s difficult to do with Russian land, he said.”

UAH student wins national 2024 Department of Energy CyberForce® competition. D.NewsWise.com article. Pull quote: “As detailed in this video, CyberForce works to increase hands-on cyber education to college students and professionals, as well as awareness of the connection between critical infrastructure and cybersecurity and basic understanding of cybersecurity within a real-world scenario. Each participant entered a virtual escape room with a goal to help their character, nicknamed “DUDE,” conquer five levels of varying technical skills and challenges in order to escape. The students had to use cybersecurity, computer science, mathematics and critical-thinking skills to traverse from one level to the next. Wittenborn helped DUDE escape all five levels in the fastest time — six hours, 42 minutes and 11 seconds — and was declared the Reign Edition champion.”

Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement: Assessing Contractor Implementation of Cybersecurity Requirements (DFARS Case 2019-D041). Federal Register DOD notice of proposed rulemaking. Summary: “DoD is proposing to amend the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) to incorporate contractual requirements related to the proposed Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification 2.0 program rule, Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Program. This proposed DFARS rule also partially implements a section of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 that directed the Secretary of Defense to develop a consistent, comprehensive framework to enhance cybersecurity for the U.S. defense industrial base.” Public comments due: October 15^th, 2024.