Page 59 - Federal Computer Week, March/April 2019

Brent Ingraham
Unmanned Systems Technical Director for the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Platform and Weapons Portfolio Management Defense Department
The director of drones. When DOD halted procurement of off-the-shelf unmanned aircraft systems because of concerns about cybersecurity vulnerabilities, Ingraham established a cross-functional team of experts to review urgent and critical department needs while preventing loss of infor- mation. He developed databases and data management tools and integrated a rapid and secure process to review those needs, conduct risk assess- ments and determine mitigation steps. His efforts allowed DOD to consis- tently and efficiently evaluate cyber- security risks, and in just six months, the ban was lifted thanks to Ingra- ham’s ingenuity and perseverance.
Richard “Rick” Jack
Distinguished C4ISR Software Engineer, SPAWAR Systems Center Pacific Department of the Navy
The speedster. To create processes that let developers work faster, Jack worked quickly himself. In six weeks, he built a demo of the Compile to Combat in 24 Hours architecture, which lets developers use a secure cloud to build and send accredited app updates to Navy ships at sea with- in 24 hours instead of 18 months. Jack also led the Collaborative Software Armory, which houses preapproved, cutting-edge, cloud-hosted develop-
ment tools. Colleagues say both those efforts help ensure that developers provide military service members with the latest and most secure soft- ware features, ultimately promoting national security and saving lives.
Charles Kamhoua
Electronics Engineer
Army Research Laboratory
Game-changer. One of the big-
gest challenges of cloud technology involves securing the shared storage resources that are provided to users via the creation of virtual machines. Kamhoua helped design an algorithm that uses game theory to prevent hackers from gaining access to a cloud environment by penetrating insecure virtual machines used by another cloud client. The result is a proven formula for grouping clients based on their security requirements and reducing the chances that a highly secure client will be vulner- able to attack via a client with weaker security.
Ted Kaouk
Chief Data Officer
Agriculture Department
Dashboard data master. In 2018, Kaouk led efforts to dramatically change the way USDA makes admin- istrative decisions. He created 110 enterprise dashboards for all the agency’s administrative functions and, in the process, provided unprecedent- ed access to data for agency leaders who make strategic decisions in the areas of IT, human resources, finance,
property and fleet, procurement, operations and homeland security. He further unlocked his agency’s data by opening the dashboards to all USDA employees, which has dramatically reduced the amount of time needed to perform data calls and answer key questions.
Rep. Robin Kelly
Congresswoman
U.S. House of Representatives
Congressional techie. Kelly (D-Ill.) was half of federal IT’s dynamic duo as ranking member of a special com- mittee devoted to technology. With Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas), she con- ducted oversight under the Federal
IT Acquisition Reform Act, proposed legislation to secure the internet-of- things ecosystem and sought to push the boundaries of the government’s understanding of artificial intelligence. Of all her work, Kelly said she is most proud of the Connected Govern-
ment Act, which requires government websites to be mobile friendly. It was signed into law last year. “People may not think about FITARA, but this bill is something that affects them,” she said.
Brent Ingraham Richard Jack Charles Ted Kaouk Rep. Robin Kelly Kamhoua
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