The Department of Homeland Security is developing a new project to improve overall procurement efforts, while cyber security is becoming more important in Air Force combat training exercises. In addition, DARPA is looking to develop programs that are mathematically unhackable. Be sure to read about this and much more in this week’s Federal News Round Up.

DHS to Launch Acquisition Improvement Project
The Department of Homeland Security will soon be launching a project to improve procurement, starting small but eventually encompassing “all of acquisition.”

Cyber’s Bigger Role in Air Force’s Red Flag
As a reflection of the growing importance of cyber operations on the battlefield, the Air Force is giving cyber a full seat at the table during combat training exercises, such as the Red Flag exercise held earlier this year at Nellis Air Force Base.

DARPA Wants Mathematically Unhackable Programs
DARPA is looking for research that offers mathematical proof that a program is extraordinarily difficult to hack.

ODNI Crowdsources Speech-Recognition Software
The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity wants to crowdsource ideas for software that would make human speech recorded in noisy environments more easily translated into less error-prone data.

Navy Puts Autonomous ‘Swarmboats’ Into Action
Navy researchers have achieved a breakthrough in autonomous technology, developing a “swarming” system that employs multiple unmanned boats working together to escort ships, patrol harbors or confront adversaries.

DISA’s milCloud Now Offering Classified Services
The Defense Information Systems Agency’s cloud services portfolio can now handle classified information, as the agency has configured milCloud to handle the security requirements of the Secret IP Router Network, known as SIPRNet.

Cloud-Based Portal Kept IRS Ahead of e-filers
The IRS effectively leveraged a cloud-based portal to process more than 151 million federal tax returns that were filed electronically.