OGC Adopts Earth Observation Profile for Web-based Catalogue Services

The Open Geospatial Consortium, Inc. (OGC) announces adoption and availability of the OGC Earth Observation (EO) Application Profile for the OGC Catalogue Services – Web (CSW) Specification 2.0.2. The EO-CSW standard will benefit a wide range of stakeholders involved in the provision and use of data generated by satellite-borne and aerial radar, optical and atmospheric sensors. The EO-CSW standard describes a set of interfaces, bindings and encodings that can be implemented in catalog servers that data providers will use to publish collections of descriptive information (metadata) about Earth Observation data and services. Developers can also implement this standard as part of Web clients that enable data users and their applications to very efficiently search and exploit these collections of Earth Observation data and services. More….

ManTech gains rare NRO ‘non-conflict status’

The agency program seeks to ensure the integrity of the contracting acquisition process
By David Hubler
Jan 21, 2010

ManTech International Corp. recently became one of only a handful of government contractors to receive certification from the National Reconnaissance Office as a “non-conflicted” services provider, according to a company announcement.

The agency program negotiates Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI) agreements with government contractors to ensure the integrity of their acquisition process, ManTech said.

An NRO spokeswoman told Washington Technology that a check of agency files showed that in addition to ManTech, Computer Sciences Corp. subsidiary Welkin Associates Ltd., a Chantilly, Va., provider of management tools to the intelligence community, and Elantech Inc., a Greenbelt, Md., government contractor, also have received OCI certification from the agency. More….

Doing business with the NSA

Secretive agency needs contractors to supply everything from tech services to dog food

By MARC SHAPIRO, Staff Writer
Published 01/13/10

Tracking the whereabouts and methods of America’s enemies is a delicate, secretive task.

Mathematicians, scientists and analysts work to decode signals intelligence, while also preventing others from gathering secure information about the United States. Much of the work happens in a secure building, locked away behind the gates of Fort George G. Meade.

As mysterious as the National Security Agency is, equally mysterious is how a local business can get its foot in the door to contract with the agency. More….

5 Things You Can Learn About Analysis from the Intelligence Community

More About the Intelligence Community

# Posted by Tony Agresta on January 5, 2010 at 8:44pm

Businesses have a large and growing need to analyze data. This is no easy task today with the exploding volumes of data pouring in from everywhere, and the enormous pressure to turn these mountains of data into information that can be acted upon quickly.

It is no surprise that organizations spend over $15B annually on Business Intelligence (BI) and Data Mining technologies. But with all of the focus on infrastructure technologies, there is little emphasis on the art of analysis (analytics).

This is an area where the private sector would be well served by studying the methods used by the US Intelligence Community. This community has been in the business of understanding massive amounts of data for a long time and the applications are as mission critical as they get.

So, what are the lessons that you can apply to your business today. This multi-part blog series will explore 5 specific areas in more detail. More….

Military Is Awash in Data From Drones

Posted: 11 Jan 2010 07:42 AM PST

Source: Got Geoint?

As the military rushes to place more spy drones over Afghanistan, the remote-controlled planes are producing so much video intelligence that analysts are finding it more and more difficult to keep up. Air Force drones collected nearly three times as much video over Afghanistan and Iraq last year as in 2007 — about 24 years’ worth if watched continuously. That volume is expected to multiply in the coming years as drones are added to the fleet and as some start using multiple cameras to shoot in many directions. A group of young analysts already watches every second of the footage live as it is streamed to Langley Air Force Base here and to other intelligence centers, and they quickly pass warnings about insurgents and roadside bombs to troops in the field. Read the full NY Times article

BEST JOBS IN AMERICA

Money/PayScale.com’s list of great careers

9. Intelligence Analyst
Intelligence Analyst
Top 50 rank: 9
Sector: Government

What they do: Gather and analyze data related to international policy and military strategy, most often for the government or defense contractors.

Why it’s great: Like adventure? Data might be collected from satellite images, wiretaps, Internet chatter, and military and spy reports.

Given the country’s continued vigilance about national security, demand should remain high. “The best part is helping our country,” says Nate Copeland, an intelligence analyst in Herndon, Va.

Drawbacks: High stress; you often can’t talk about your job outside of work.

Pre-reqs: Security clearance, of course. Foreign languages and often military experience are a huge plus.

Do Intelligence Analysts have great jobs, or what?

Intelligence Analyst stats
Pay
Median salary
(experienced) $82,500
Top pay $115,000
Opportunity
10-year job growth
(2006-2016) 15%
Total jobs
(current) 51,000
Online want ad growth
(April 2009-August 2009) 21%
Quality of life ratings
Personal satisfaction A
Job security B
Future growth A
Benefit to society A
Low stress C

From the November 2009 issue

Notes: All pay data from PayScale.com. Median pay is for an experienced worker (at least two to seven years in the field). Top pay represents the 90th percentile. Job growth is estimated for 2006-16. Total current employment level is estimated number of people working in each specific job.

Sources: PayScale.com, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Conference Board Help Wanted Online Data Series, and MONEY research

Gov. O’Malley positions Maryland to capitalize on cyber security efforts

Baltimore Business Journal – by Daniel J. Sernovitz Staff

Gov. Martin O’Malley announced an ambitious plan Monday to establish Maryland as the “epicenter” for the federal government’s cyber security initiative.

It’s a push that could bring as many as 28,000 jobs to Maryland as the Pentagon and its array of government agencies seeks to insulate the nation from hackers and other computerized threats.

O’Malley, speaking at a cyber security summit in Montgomery County, outlined plans to create a national cyber security center and boost marketing to lure defense contractors here, especially those in the fast-growing field of informatics. The Democratic governor said his administration will do everything it can to partner with the federal government and those agencies already charged with improving the nation’s cyber security defenses. The steps are in line with efforts already under way in the federal government, including the proposed creation of a U.S. Cyber Command to be led by the head of the National Security Agency at Fort George G. Meade in Anne Arundel County. More….

Intellipedia

Intellipedia was created to share information on some of the most difficult subjects facing U.S. intelligence and to bring cutting-edge technology into its ever-more-youthful workforce.[5] It also allows information to be assembled and reviewed by a wide variety of sources and agencies, to address concerns that pre-war intelligence did not include robust dissenting opinions on Iraq’s alleged weapons programs.[6] A number of projects are under way to explore the use of the Intellipedia for the creation of traditional Intelligence Community products. In the summer of 2006, Intellipedia was the main collaboration tool in constructing a National Intelligence Estimate on Nigeria.[7]

Intellipedia was at least partially inspired by an essay competition set up by the CIA – later taken over by the DNI – which encouraged any employee at any intelligence agency to submit new ideas to improve information sharing. The first essay selected was by Calvin Andrus, chief technology officer of the Center for Mission Innovation at the CIA, entitled “The Wiki and the Blog: Toward a Complex Adaptive Intelligence Community”. Andrus’ essay argued that the real power of the Internet had come from the boom in self-publishing, and noted how the open-door policy of Wikipedia allowed it to cover new subjects quickly.[8][9]

Richard A. Russell, Deputy Assistant Director of National Intelligence for Information Sharing Customer Outreach (ISCO) said it was created so “analysts in different agencies that work X or Y can go in and see what other people are doing on subject X or Y and actually add in their two cents worth … or documents that they have.” “What we’re after here is ‘decision superiority’, not ‘information superiority’,” he said. “We have to get inside the decision cycle of the enemy. We have to be able to discover what they’re doing and respond to it effectively.”[4]

In September 2007, sixteen months after its creation, officials noted that the top-secret version of Intellipedia alone (hosted on JWICS) has 29,255 articles, with an average of 114 new articles and more than 6,000 edits to articles added each workday.[10]

As of April 2009, the overall Intellipedia project hosts 900,000 pages edited by 100,000 users, with 5,000 page edits per day.[11] More….

Intelligence Community Jobs and Intelligence Careers – a Premium Opportunity

By Jon M. Stout

During difficult economic times, jobs in the Intelligence Community (IC) have shown remarkable growth and career value. As National Security continues to be a priority for the government, Intelligence Community jobs have created interesting, well paying careers. Compensation in the Community is significantly higher than comparable jobs in other Federal Agencies and, because of the continuing need for Intelligence, career potential is high.

Types of Jobs

By a large margin, the greatest number of jobs created are Information Technology (including increasing skill requirements for Cyber Security) with Engineering and Operational Support also popular. This trend is dictated by the mission of the Intelligence Community based upon collection, analysis and dissemination of actionable intelligence.

The amount of data processed by the IC each day is enormous and extensive use of state of the art data management tools and techniques is a requirement in order to produce quality intelligence.

Professionals are employed directly and through system integrators and other contracting companies and these individuals play an important role in an effort to produce actionable intelligence.

Importance of Jobs in the Intelligence Community

The national security of the American people is the top priority of the Federal Government and the mission critical requirements of the Intelligence Community require the best in technology providers. As a result, the 16 members of the Community that collect and interpret intelligence information generally pay at least a 15% premium in wages for both employees and contractor personnel.

The Wage and Benefit Premium

Premium wages and benefits are offered because the requirements and preferences of the IC are demanding.

High level security clearances (often with full scope-lifestyle polygraphs) are required and advanced degrees are often preferred.

Obtaining a high level security is a difficult, expensive and time consuming process. Bureaucratic delays occur at each level of the clearance process. Extensive background searches are required and at least two agencies (NSA and CIA) require full scope polygraphs. Not everyone can pass scrutiny. This barrier alone reduces the available pool of skilled professionals and increases wage rates.

The type of work and the environment in the Community is demanding and challenging. Many professionals support mission critical projects and strict deadlines are the norm particularly when a national security event occurs.

Agencies also tend to prefer individuals with advanced degrees for the jobs requiring greater skills and this preference underlies the requirement for professionals with state of the art skills.

The work is very challenging, but usually very rewarding. State of the art applications are developed that produce real time intelligence that is valuable in the War against Terror.

Non-Monetary Rewards

In addition to higher pay and benefits, psychic rewards in the form of job satisfaction, national pride and honor, and an overall high esprit de corps and morale add to the rewards of the job. This factor contributes significantly to the low turnover of jobs in the Community.

Small Business vs. Large Business

Many of the employees working for the IC are actually provided by contractors who respond to requirements of Agency end users. These contracts are often long term engagements and large contractors like Lockheed Martin, Boeing, BAE and Northrop supply thousands of IT and Intelligence specialists under contract. In addition there are a large number of smaller, niche type contractors that also supply valuable technical support personnel.

Both large and small contractors offer premium compensation and benefits but recent studies show that smaller contractors offer the individual higher pay and richer benefit packages. This is due to the fact that smaller contractors have lower S, G& and;A rates and can afford to provide employees higher pay and benefits.

Both large and small contractors are eligible for long term contracts and job security is not dependant on the size of the company. Often, smaller companies provide greater opportunity for advancement based upon greater individual recognition.

NSA Certified Information Security Assessment Methodology (IAM)

The NSA Certified Information Security Assessment Methodology (NSA IAM) is an information security assessment methodology that baselines assessment activities. It breaks information security assessments into three phases: pre-assessment, on-site activities, and post-assessment. Each of these phases contains mandatory activities to ensure information security assessment consistency. It is important to note, however, that NSA IAM assessments consist of only documentation review, interviews, and observation. There is no testing done during an NSA IAM assessment. The NSA released the INFOSEC Evaluation Methodology to baseline testing activities. More….