Uncategorised
NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ODNI News Release No. 13-17
May 15, 2017
DS&T AND OUSD(I) Launch “Xpress” Automated Analysis Challenge
WASHINGTON – The Intelligence Community is sponsoring a $500,000 prize competition to explore artificial intelligence approaches that would transform the process by which analysts currently support policymakers and warfighters through the research and generation of written products.
The Office of the Director of Science and Technology within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence—in partnership with the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence—is launching its first challenge contest, “Xpress,” to explore AI-based opportunities for generating analytic products that surpass those crafted by traditional, highly-trained IC analysts. Leveraging private-sector momentum in this area will help ensure that the IC continues to employ cutting-edge methodologies and tools to quickly warn and inform policymakers in an ever more demanding and complex global environment.
“Given the pace and breadth of international activity, the IC’s analytic community is increasingly challenged to provide policymakers and warfighters with timely information and analysis on a growing number of targets and issues,” said Dr. David Isaacson, DS&T program manager for the challenge. “Xpress serves a critical role in exploring the potential for 'machine analytics' to enhance existing IC support to our nation's decision makers, ultimately paving the way for analytic production to occur on a timeline and scale that IC analysts and their customers can scarcely imagine today.”
The Xpress Challenge seeks to stimulate the development of innovative algorithms that use a collection of press reporting to craft analytic products that identify the national security implications of a representative intelligence problem.
Challenge solvers’ machine-generated analytic products will be evaluated based on ODNI’s existing IC analytic tradecraft standards, for a total prize purse of $500,000. The top-performing algorithm will receive $100,000, with an additional $370,000 in prizes for the next four highest-performing algorithms and the best performance within specific technical areas. A further $30,000 in prize money will be awarded to the three highest-performing U.S. high school teams to promote science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education. Beyond promoting early interest in STEM fields, challenges are widely recognized as a cost-efficient way to gather cross-disciplinary solutions to difficult problems. The deadline for final submissions is July 5, 2017.
With the Xpress Challenge, the ODNI and the OUSD(I) are advancing a key IC goal of stimulating technology-based capabilities for solving intelligence challenges today and in the future.
To learn more about Xpress, including rules and eligibility requirements, visit the Xpress Challenge competition website at https://www.innocentive.com/ar/challenge/9933982 or follow @ODNIgov on Twitter (Reference #XpressChallenge) for updates.
For additional information, please also see the latest Signal magazine article: "Industry Off and Running in ODNI Xpress Challenge”
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In February, the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) officially relaunched its publicly accessible Privacy Calendar, a "one-top shop" for all privacy-related events. The calendar highlights events such as April's National Privacy and Data Governanace Congress, international hearings on e-privacy, and various seminars and lectures.
This non-profit resource is searchable by date and type of event.
Security Clearance Reform
Accomplishments
- Security Executive Agent Directive-1 (SEAD-1) (PDF): This Directive consolidates and summarizes the authorities and responsibilities assigned to the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) in the role as the Security Executive Agent (SecEA) responsible for the development, implementation, and oversight of effective, efficient, and uniform policies and procedures governing the conduct of investigations and adjudications for eligibility for access to classified information or eligibility to hold a sensitive position.
- Security Executive Agent Directive-2 (SEAD-2) (PDF): Use of polygraph in support of personnel security determinations for initial or continued eligibility for access to classified information or eligibility to hold a sensitive position
- Security Executive Agent Directive-3 (SEAD-3) (PDF): Reporting Requirements
- Security Executive Agent Directive-4 (SEAD-4) (PDF): National Adjudicative Guidelines (not published)
- Security Executive Agent Directive-5 (SEAD-5) (PDF): Collection, use, and retention of publicly available social media information in personnel security background investigations and adjudications
- Title 5 Code of Federal Regulations 1400, Designation of National Security Positions in Competitive Service, Position Designation Tool and implementation guidance.
Michael J. Moss
Michael Moss is a career intelligence professional and a member of the Defense Intelligence Senior Executive Service who served as the Deputy Chief, Global Issues, in the National Security Agency’s Directorate of Operations before joining CTIIC as Deputy Director. He has held senior leadership positions in both Signals Intelligence and Information Assurance missions.
Mr. Moss began his career at NSA designing and building analog and digital signals processing systems. He later served as a program manager and senior signals analyst for a field activity, spending four and a half years on assignment overseas. He then joined NSA’s Operations Staff of the Deputy Director, Analysis & Production, before becoming chief of a large technology development and sustainment organization supporting the full range of NSA’s Analysis & Reporting capabilities.
Mr. Moss has served on NSA’s Afghanistan–Pakistan Mission Management Team supporting the US Government’s engagement in Afghanistan, as Deputy Chief of NSA’s Operational Network Vulnerabilities Office within the Information Assurance Directorate (IAD)—overseeing vulnerability assessments and penetration testing for DOD and US Government operational networks—and as Chief of IAD’s Current Operations Group, responsible for the production of all of NSA’s key cryptographic material for the United States and its allies.
In addition, Mr. Moss served as the Deputy Director for Fusion Analysis & Mitigations of IAD, leading the creation of strategies to mitigate risks to US national security systems as well as managing the production of comprehensive risk assessments and the development of cyber security big-data analytics.
Mr. Moss earned his BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Purdue University, participating in NSA’s Cooperative Education Program as part of his undergraduate studies. He received his MS in National Security Strategy from the National War College, as a Distinguished Graduate, in 2010.
Mr. Moss resides in Ellicott City, Maryland, with his wife, Supranee, and their three children.
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