The INSIDER daily digest -- Jan. 5, 2024

This Friday INSIDER Daily Digest has news on the Defense Industrial Base Consortium, missile defense on Guam and more.

In December 2022, DOD announced its intent to establish a new Industrial Base Policy Consortium that would work to quickly award projects to match the speed of innovation:

DOD selects new Defense Industrial Base Consortium management organization

The Defense Department awarded Advanced Technology International a contract on Dec. 31 to act as the Defense Industrial Base Consortium Management Organization, which will help the DIBC expand its member base.

House and Senate lawmakers stripped from final legislation that is now the Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act a provision that would have limited the Missile Defense Agency’s ability to use the radar purchased in 2018 for Hawaii on Guam -- forcing a four-year delay as well as adding $148 million in cost to the project:

MDA cleared to re-purpose Hawaii Homeland Defense Radar on Guam, dodging four-year delay

The Defense Department can now re-purpose a homeland defense radar for Guam after the Senate dropped its opposition to the move, lending speed to the project to improve air- and missile defenses of the Western Pacific U.S. territory. The radar was originally purchased for Hawaii but never emplaced due to local opposition over the size and impact of the large sensor.

More coverage of the Pentagon's recent release of its new Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program rule:

Pentagon lays out policies for Cyber AB in proposed rule with details on assessor requirements, ethics policies

The Pentagon’s proposed rule to implement the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program details the role, expectations and tasks for the accreditation body responsible for building out on the major Defense Department initiative's assessment ecosystem.

DOD issues memorandum detailing FedRAMP equivalency requirements for CMMC program

The Defense Department has issued a memorandum on equivalency for cloud service offerings between the General Services Administration’s Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program and the Pentagon's cyber certification program.

The southern Red Sea continues to be a flashpoint:

Houthis launch USV with explosives in Red Sea, U.S. military says

An unmanned surface vessel detonated in international shipping lanes in the Red Sea this morning, according to the U.S. military -- the latest in a series of attacks from Houthi rebels based in Yemen on U.S. warships and multinational commercial vessels.