Federal government in talks with tech groups to use phone location data to track coronavirus: report

The federal government is in talks with Facebook, Google and other tech companies about ways to use smartphone location data to tackle the coronavirus, The Washington Post reported Tuesday. Washington is reportedly interested in using the data to better understand how the virus spreads and to see whether people are practicing social distancing. A new task force made up of tech and other industry executives presented ideas for the use of the location data at a White House meeting Sunday, the Post reported. Presenters included officials from Harvard University and representatives from top tech groups and Silicon Valley firms.

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Emerging Technology

Aalyria and Second Front Partner to Expedite Availability of Spacetime for Government Use

Business Wire | October 17, 2023

Aalyria, a dynamic startup commercializing advanced networking and communications technologies acquired from Google, has formed a strategic alliance with Second Front Systems. This collaboration paves the way for accelerated deployment of Aalyria’s Spacetime network orchestration platform within government sectors. The integration with Second Front's trusted Game Warden platform makes Spacetime accessible at Department of Defense Impact Levels 4 and 5 (IL4 and IL5). Embracing this modern risk management approach means the ability to focus on maintaining security and risk management frameworks without significantly impacting development teams or timelines – a leap from traditional authorization processes. Aalyria is also on track to extend Spacetime's reach to IL6 and Top Secret environments in the near future. Spacetime is an advanced software platform designed for orchestrating and managing complex networks of satellites, ground stations, aircraft, ships, urban meshes, and more. The software is being adopted across the public and private sector, including in partnership with the Defense Innovation Unit, Intelsat, Rivada Space Networks, Anduril, Leidos, the U.S. Navy, and others. “Working with Second Front enables us to quickly deploy to more secure environments and serve our growing customer base,” said Chris Taylor, CEO of Aalyria. “The demand for our Spacetime solution by an array of mission owners across the defense and intelligence spectrum made partnering with Second Front an easy choice – the team’s proficiency in this space and the speed at which they work is a great match for Aalyria.” “Aalyria is an absolute trailblazer in network orchestration and Second Front is thrilled to be collaborating,” said Tyler Sweatt, CEO at Second Front. “We share a passion for ensuring the most innovative solutions are made available to defense and national security end users, so this was a natural fit. Second Front is honored to play a role in enabling Aalyria to rapidly deploy their amazing solutions to the world’s most mission critical customer base.” The initial collaboration will bring Aalryia’s technologies to ILs 4 and 5 and is part of a broader plan to bring their solutions to a diverse combination of advanced networks in the near future. Aalyria and Second Front will focus on Aalryia’s TRL 9 Spacetime offering – a product validated with greater than 2 million hours of lights-out orchestration of aerospace nodes. It is designed to operate networks that include global scale dynamic physical link topologies and highly-directional steerable beams across land, sea, air, and space. About Second Front Systems Second Front Systems (2F) fast-tracks government access to disruptive, commercially-proven software as a service (SaaS) applications for national security missions. Leading software providers—ranging from publicly traded defense contractors to startups—and government agencies trust 2F’s Game Warden DevSecOps platform and secure cloud hosting environment to accelerate their delivery and harness the cloud revolution at scale. Founded by former U.S. Marines, this public benefit, venture-backed software company is driven by firsthand experience of the dangers outdated technology poses in combat. About Aalyria Aalyria is a global advanced networking and laser communications technologies company. It is revolutionizing connectivity on Earth and in Space. Its Tightbeam product – the world’s first atmospheric corrected coherent free space optics solution – and Spacetime – the only all-orbit, all-domain, software defined network orchestration platform – are helping commercial and government customers reimagine business and mission models to make their assets more effective, efficient, and profitable.

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Cybersecurity

ZeroFox Renews and Expands 8-Figure Contract with Critical U.S. Federal Agency

GlobeNewswire | October 25, 2023

ZeroFox, a leading provider of external cybersecurity, is proud to announce its continued partnership with a strategic U.S. federal agency focused on cybersecurity. This renewal marks the 9th continuous year of ZeroFox supporting critical cyber threat intelligence activities. The partnership originated between the agency and LookingGlass Cyber Solutions, which ZeroFox acquired in April earlier this year. This program supports thousands of users across more than 200 departments and agencies across federal, state, and local governments to provide cyber threat intelligence, attack surface Intelligence, and advanced security operations support. ZeroFox products are integrated into core operational systems, and are often the primary means of consuming Automated Indicator Sharing (AIS), required by all federal agencies. We’re proud to play a part in the federal government’s critical cybersecurity initiatives and support their mission to keep organizations safe with our threat intelligence and adversary disruption capabilities, said James C. Foster, Chairman and CEO of ZeroFox. This expansion further establishes ZeroFox as a trusted partner of federal agencies and demonstrates continued success in growing our large public sector and enterprise customer base. ZeroFox provides government organizations with critical visibility, deep intelligence, and automated protection necessary to identify and address threats outside the perimeter. Using a global data collection apparatus, artificial intelligence-based analysis, and automated remediation, ZeroFox products reduce risk, disrupt and dismantle attackers' infrastructure, and protect organizations against targeted nation-state-sponsored cyberattacks. The external attack surface for government agencies is ever-expanding with the proliferation of cloud- and internet-based applications, making it essential to have a complete picture of each agency’s digital risk, said Dan Smith, Vice President of Federal at ZeroFox. At ZeroFox, we strive to provide all of our federal customers with the intelligence they need to make informed decisions about how to best secure our nation and its people from external cyber threats. This renewal underscores that commitment – we’re proud to be a trusted partner of the federal government. About ZeroFox ZeroFox, an enterprise software-as-a-service leader in external cybersecurity, has redefined security outside the corporate perimeter on the internet, where businesses operate, and threat actors thrive. The ZeroFox platform combines advanced AI analytics, digital risk and privacy protection, full-spectrum threat intelligence, and a robust portfolio of breach, incident and takedown response capabilities to expose and disrupt phishing and fraud campaigns, botnet exposures, credential theft, impersonations, data breaches, and physical threats that target your brands, domains, people, and assets. Join thousands of customers, including some of the largest public sector organizations as well as finance, media, technology and retail companies to stay ahead of adversaries and address the entire lifecycle of external cyber risks. ZeroFox and the ZeroFox logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of ZeroFox, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries.

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Emerging Technology

Mark43 is First Public Safety Technology Company to Achieve StateRAMP High Impact Level Authorization

Business Wire | October 12, 2023

Mark43, the leading cloud-native public safety software company, today announced that it has achieved State Risk and Authorization Management Program (StateRAMP) High Impact Level Authorization. Mark43 brings the most mature security controls to Computer-Aided Dispatch, Records Management System, and Analytics platforms delivered on Amazon Web Services (AWS) GovCloud to more than 200 public safety agencies and their communities. Mark43 is the first public safety technology company to achieve StateRAMP High Impact Level Authorization, certifying its commitment to protecting the privacy and security of its customers’ data, particularly for state, local and tribal governments. StateRAMP, the State Risk and Authorization Management Program, is a highly respected and recognized certification program for cloud cybersecurity excellence. It provides state and local governments assurance that the technology vendors they are working with meet rigorous cybersecurity standards through independent audits and ongoing continuous monitoring. It is inspired by and adapted from the FedRAMP standards and framework. By achieving StateRAMP High Impact Level Authorization and having achieved FedRAMP High In Process, Mark43 demonstrates its commitment to providing state and local government customers with the highest level of cybersecurity protection possible. “With more than 1,000 known attacks against U.S. public safety agencies and local governments since 2021, the stakes have never been higher,” said Mark43 Chief Executive Officer Robert Hughes. “According to IBM’s ‘Cost of a Data Breach Report 2023,’ the average cost of a cybersecurity breach is $4.45M million and in this current climate, state and local governments are under constant attack. Mark43 is the first public safety technology company to achieve StateRAMP High Impact Level Authorization – verification that Mark43 delivers the resilient, reliable and secure CAD and RMS that cities and states need. Law enforcement agencies simply cannot afford to partner with a technology provider that does not achieve this level of cybersecurity maturity.” “Government agencies, public safety agencies, and institutions of higher education are very real targets for hackers and cyberattacks,” said Mark43 Chief Information Security Officer Larry Zorio. “The ability of these entities to verify that their partners maintain the highest levels of cybersecurity controls is critical. This StateRAMP High Impact Level Authorization is proof that Mark43 offers best-in-class cybersecurity controls.” “Achieving StateRAMP High Impact Level Authorization now makes it even easier for state and local agencies to partner with Mark43, and we’re thrilled to help government partners deliver for the communities they serve,” said Mark43 Chief Revenue Officer Tim Merrigan. Built on Amazon Web Services (AWS) GovCloud, Mark43 will continue to provide industry-leading security controls available for public safety customers. This StateRAMP High Impact Level Authorization builds on Mark43’s existing security program which includes SOC 2 Type II and SOC 3 attestations, as well as recently achieving the FedRAMP High In Process Authorization. Mark43 is one of the few public safety technology companies to have attained the FedRAMP High In Process designation, and is expected to achieve formal FedRAMP High Authorization in the coming months. About Mark43 Mark43 is the leading cloud-native public safety technology company. By delivering a modern, intuitive and mobile-first Records Management System, Computer-Aided Dispatch and Analytics platform, Mark43 empowers governments and their communities to improve the safety and quality of life for all. Working with more than 200 local, state and federal public safety agencies, Mark43 is transforming how first responders use technology to respond, engage and serve the community. Mark43 provides the tools, resources, expertise, and security foundation that public safety needs today, tomorrow, and beyond. For more information or to request a demo, visit www.mark43.com. About StateRAMP StateRAMP promotes the adoption of secure cloud services across the U.S. state and local governments, public education institutions, and special districts. It provides a standardized approach to security and risk assessment and continuous monitoring for cloud technologies for use by government agencies. StateRAMP empowers agencies to use modern cloud products and services to fulfill their organizational objectives by providing independent verification and continuous monitoring against established cybersecurity standards.

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