NewsBrief May 15, 2020

Jeff Bezos ‘Trillionaire’ Is Trending On Twitter. Here’s Why

(Forbes) Jeff Bezos’ wealth suddenly caught the Twitter’s attention on Wednesday amid ‘claims’ that the world’s richest man is set to become a trillionaire, in part thanks to pandemic-driven demand that has sent Amazon stock soaring. Bezos was trending on Twitter on Wednesday after a months-old study by small business advice platform, Comparisun, resurfaced, claiming that Bezos net worth could reach $1 trillion by 2026. The company analyzed the market cap of the highest valued firms on the New York Stock Exchange, as well as Forbes’ 25 richest people. Chinese real estate billionaire Xu Jiayin is second on the study’s list. Read More

MDA: All-Domain C2 Key To Countering Hypersonic Missiles

(Breaking Defense) WASHINGTON: Senior Missile Defense Agency officials say Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) will be fundamental to rapidly and seamlessly integrating future capability to track and intercept hypersonic and cruise missiles into its current architecture focused on ballistic missiles. “We need the ability to globally see, track and engage the threats in a multispectral environment in real time with persistent capabilities, so that we can provide the right data to the right targets,” MDA’s chief architect Stan Stafira said. Read More

DIU seeks one form of automation (ML) than can help another (RPA)

(fedscoop) Think of it as machines helping machines: The Defense Innovation Unit wants a machine learning platform that can boost the Pentagon’s existing uses of robotic process automation (RPA) for business tasks. The goal of the Silicon Valley-based agency’s solicitation is to help nudge Department of Defense RPAs into more complex problem-solving territory by providing pattern recognition and instructions on how to adjust automation to fit changing scenarios. “The ML platform will identify and suggest corrections to business processes that are not limited to previously well-defined business logic methods,” Read More

DHS cyber agency launches new telework security products

(Fifth Domain) The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency announced on May 1 the release of cybersecurity guidance documents to advise critical infrastructure operators, businesses and federal agencies on safe practices during the telework period caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The new product line from CISA, a component of the Department of Homeland Security that regularly releases cybersecurity best practices for various sectors, will focus on secure practices when adopting or expanding an organization’s telework environment. “As many businesses and organizations have rapidly shifted to a maximum telework environment, CISA is providing a one-stop shop of cybersecurity and resources to protect networks in this new landscape,” said CISA Director Christopher Krebs, whose agency is tasked with securing critical infrastructure and federal networks. Read More

It’s time to build 21st century companies: Learning to thrive in a radically different world

(McKinsey) With rising global prosperity and half the world soon entering the consumption economy, markets are burgeoning in places beyond the rich, industrialized nations. It is in this environment that the role of the corporation, in society and in the global economy, is changing — bringing new challenges for the CEO. This is especially true for large marketshaping companies that seek to capitalize on innovations that are altering the face of global capitalism. Consider some of the choices the CEOs of such companies will need to make — choices very different even from those leaders confronted at the new century’s dawn. Read More

COVID-19 More Likely to Accelerate Telecom Modernization than Cause Delays, GSA Officials Say

(Nextgov) The majority of federal agencies missed important deadlines in the ongoing transition to the General Services Administration’s Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions, or EIS, telecom contract. But program leaders said the COVID-19 pandemic shouldn’t add many significant delays. “They’re actually only a few agencies that have been impacted by the COVID-19 because of where they’re at,” Allen Hill, executive director of GSA’s Office of Telecommunications Services, told Nextgov Tuesday during The Next Big Network webcast. Read More

THE PANDEMIC HAS SERIOUSLY CONFUSED MACHINE LEARNING SYSTEMS

(Futurism)The chaos and uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus pandemic have claimed an unlikely victim: the machine learning systems that are programmed to make sense of our online behavior. The algorithms that recommend products on Amazon, for instance, are struggling to interpret our new lifestyles, MIT Technology Review reports. And while machine learning tools are built to take in new data, they’re typically not so robust that they can adapt as dramatically as needed. Read More