Moving targets, Logan kiosks and industry's view of LPTA
News and notes from around the federal IT community.
Air Force moves on dynamic cyber defense
Defense Systems reports that the Air Force has requested white papers for the development of a command and control capability that could orchestrate Moving Target Defense across the entire enterprise.
MTD strategies seek to move cyber defenses from static configurations to a more dynamic set of system parameters that would make it more difficult for attackers to discover and take advantage of vulnerabilities.
Logan signs on for CBP's e-customs kiosks
U.S. Customs and Border Protection added a 20th airport to its list of those that offer electronic customs processing kiosks.
Boston's Logan International Airport introduced Automated Passport Control kiosks in the facility's international Terminal E on July 22 to help speed travelers through the arrivals process.
The APC program allows U.S. citizens and Canadian visitors to enter their passport and identification information prior to inspection by a CBP officer. The automated process includes a passport scan, a photo capture, a touch-screen question-and-answer session and an electronic presentation of documents to CBP officers.
The kiosks come at no cost to the agency. They are provided through public/private partnerships with airport authorities.
No love lost for LPTA
Think you know how unpopular lowest price, technically acceptable contracts are among industry leaders? Think again.
A new Washington Technology Insider Report details both the breadth -- 89 percent of contractors said they were opposed -- and the depth of disdain for LPTA. Industry executives warned that such contracts often lead to penny-wise, pound-foolish decisions, with 66 percent contending that LPTA is bad for agency customers.
"The government is surprised it is receiving junior staff where experience is needed," one respondent put it. "This often leads to costly failures."
And although most contractors are grudgingly pursuing LPTA contracts, 6 percent said they had not bid on such projects in recent years. "Life is too short waste time on them" was one comment.