The Fed Mission Success Round Up: White House, DARPA AI Challenge; Updated NIST Cyber Framework; and NATO Announces $1 Billion Fund

Welcome to the Fed Mission Success News Round Up brought to you by Makpar. Each week, we will provide a summary of actionable news and insights to help aid in overall mission success for Federal agency IT decision-makers and influencers.  

White House and DARPA Challenge Innovators to Bring AI Tools to Cyber Defense 

The Biden administration and DARPA are launching a new, two-year competition between some of the leading AI software companies to develop new code to protect the digital networks of critical infrastructures nationwide. 

Updated NIST Cyber Framework Focuses on Governance 

The National Institute of Standards and Technology launched the first draft of its Cybersecurity Framework 2.0, featuring big changes in its scope and guidance that emphasize flexible recommendation implementation. 

Space Agencies Are Reforming Acquisition to Accelerate Commercial Tech Integration 

U.S. space agencies are developing a set of new acquisition programs and policies to speed up the purchasing of critical emerging technologies while reducing barriers to entry for the commercial space industry, officials said last week. 

 State Department Shutters AI-Based Project That Aimed to Forecast Violence and COVID-19 

The State Department is no longer pursuing an artificial intelligence project that aimed to “test the statistical relationship between social media activity overseas and activity by violent extremist organizations,” according to this recent FedScoop article.  

NATO Announces $1B Fund to Back Startups Supporting ‘Safety, Freedom and Human Empowerment’ 

NATO has raised $1 billion from certain member nations for a fund that will invest in deep tech startups, including those developing technologies that could have global military or defense applications. 

Army Wants Augmented, Virtual Reality for its Armored Vehicle Mechanics 

The Army is in the early stages of creating a multiple-award contract to acquire augmented reality and virtual reality systems for training mechanics and other maintenance personnel that work on tanks and armored vehicles.