Category Archives: NSA

What was your worst day of commuting ever?

A snow day some years back comes to mind for me. Both Metrorail and the Maryland commuter trains were whacked. My office was next to Union Station at the time. I ran into a friend who worked nearby. So we got into my car and drive from Rockville, Maryland, into Washington, D.C. dont ask.

But, when I finally made it to my building, there was plenty of room to park in the underground garage.

And whats worse than having a lousy commute only to reach a destination with inadequate parking? Yet thats what many federal employees face every day, at least, they did before all the mass teleworking. Should the January return to the office actually happen, the old parking problems will resurface. Lack of reasonably convenient parking makes every day an anxious commute.

The distant parking spaces at the Pentagon are the stuff of legend. I dont know what its like parking on the far side of Route 110 and traipsing a half mile to the Pentagon. I mean, it might be great if you could do it daily in jogging pants and hands free. But all suited up and carrying a backpack in August?

Agencies or locations with crummy or insufficient parking and you know who you are nows a great time to do something about it. With money about to get schmeared everywhere, surely you can get funds for that parking garage or fleet of shuttle vans.

Which brings me to the case of Fort Meade, Maryland. This Army base houses the National Security Agency headquarters and a few other Defense Department components. The Defense Information Systems Agency and U.S. Cyber Command also live there.

The couple of times Ive visited there I was amazed at the crush of vehicles pouring in through the security gates. When you get through the gates, youre basically nowhere. Fort Meade encompasses more than 5,000 acres. Youve got to drive to where you need to be. In effect its a city, with its own zip code.

By all accounts, parking can be a nightmare. Its not that NSA Fort Meade has too few spaces, its where they are, how theyre distributed. The inspector general field work occurred in 2019 and 2020. Im guessing the parking at NSA loosened less than at other agencies in the pandemic because fewer NSA people could handle classified stuff by telework.

Basically, parking at the NSA headquarters is a horror show. Its also a source of ongoing complaints by employees who dread it each day.

A new look-see by NSAs inspector general found that parking complaints at Fort Meade go back a few years, like to 1954, shortly after formation of the agency itself. IG Robert Storch told me that NSA management knows its got a parking problem that leads to general grumpiness. But parking isnt a priority, his report found the agency has failed to implement solutions that would minimize the parking shortage or improve employee morale. It also mismanages parking in general.

Attempts to help the parking situation come off as comic. In one case, NSA acquired a $3 million modular parking structure to add spaces vertically. It looks like an Erector Set project in life size. Several engineering studies of the spindly structure which sat directly on the black-top pavement found it was too flimsy to safely drive cars onto. In 2019, NSA spent $600,000 to have it dismantled and removed.

A system to count cars coming and going from parking lots and display numbers of available spaces didnt work out either. It wasnt totally accurate. Rainwater seeped into the display and short circuited it. Last year NSA ripped out Key2Park altogether.

Also irritating to employees: Reserved spaces. The IG turned up lots of complaints about that in NSA blogs JournalNSA and Parting Thoughts.

To wit: I didnt want to walk a quarter to half a mile or shuttle in every day only to pass by emptyparking spaces designated for the elite (non-medical privileged parking needs to go), said one poster.

The issues go on and on. The IG report even cites 41 Code of Federal Regulation Ch. 102, section 74.310. It requires agencies to constantly review their parking situation, and conduct employee surveys. But it found the NSA never has surveyed headquarters employees. The IG recommends the NSA do so and use the results to develop a comprehensive parking and transportation plan, and strategies to achieve it, that align with [installation and logistics] goals.

NSA management agreed with all of the IG recommendations. Lets hope they take action. When you drive by on Maryland Route 32, that blue-green NSA glass box looks cool. But the issue of parking there burns red hot.

Continue reading here:
Love the job, hate the parking - Federal News Network

Click Here to Download Your Free Checklists for Payers and Providers to Be Sure Youre Ready to Meet the New NSA Requirements

The No Surprises Act (NSA), which was enacted in December 2020 as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, protects patients from surprise medical bills for emergency services and when they are treated by out-of-network providers in an in-network facility in certain circumstances. The NSA also sets a methodology that will be used to determine out-of-network enrollee cost-sharing and provider reimbursement in those situationsat least when state law does not determine those amounts.

Because most states already have some form of patient protections for surprise medical bills, the NSA creates a complex landscape of state-federal law interactions. Health plans, health care providers, and hospitals and other facilities will need to analyze carefully what law applies to particular out-of-network claims. Because the answer varies depending on the scope of state laws, a health plan could be forced to reimburse some claims under state methodologies and other claims under federal methodologies. It is even possible that different parts of the same hospital stay could be reimbursed under different laws.

The federal government has issued two interim final regulations already on these issues, and plans to issue additional rules, likely in 2022. (See Manatts analysis of the first and second interim regulations.) State insurance and health regulators will also play an important role in interpreting and enforcing the NSA and corresponding state laws.

The state of Washington was the first to issue comprehensive guidance explaining how it intends to apply the NSA to insurers in its state and how the NSA will interact with its existing surprise medical billing law. Washingtons guidance demonstrates the complexity that states, health plans and providers will need to continue to wrestle with as full implementation of the NSA approaches on January 1, 2022.

Issued by the Washington Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC), the guidance explains how OIC will enforce the NSA, including prohibitions on balance billing that are broader than state law. The federal methodology for determining cost-sharing and provider reimbursement will apply to situations covered by the NSA but not existing state balance billing law (e.g., grandfathered health plans and nonemergency services by neonatologists and intensivists). State requirements that will continue to apply include state requirements for electronic transactions, provider directories, enrollee cost-sharing, provider reimbursement and dispute resolution.

OIC will not enforce the NSA against air ambulances, self-funded group health plans that have not elected to be subject to state law, and health care providers and facilities. OIC is deferring enforcement of the NSA price comparison tool and advanced explanation of benefits requirements consistent with August 2021 federal guidance but will be enforcing ID card, provider directory, balance billing enrollee disclosures and continuity of care requirements consistent with the August 2021 guidance. OIC has developed a consumer notice that plans subject to OIC jurisdiction should use.

Many states are working on guidance that is likely to be released through the end of the year. Manatt on Health is tracking state guidance as it is released and will be updating our tracker for subscribers to this premium service on a biweekly basis.

Click here to download your free checklists for payers and providers to be sure you are ready for the NSAs new requirements.

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States Begin to Issue Guidance on Implementing the No Surprises Act: Are You Ready? - JD Supra

Since 2014, when he assumed the charge of Prime Ministership, Narendra Modi has faced international pressures to address Indias human rights concerns and has been accused of involvement in war crimes and human rights violations. In 2014, a lawsuit was filed against him by the American Justice Center, which accused him of inaction in stopping the religious riots in Gujarat in 2002. At the time of the communal violence, Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat.

Other NGOs that are focused on human rights across the nation have condemned the actions of the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Huffington Post India reported that an Indian spokeswoman for Greenpeace alleges the raids to be part of a larger design to muzzle democratic dissent in the country, that began in 2014. She claims, although India is now a major growing economy, Indias citizenry remains highly dependent on foreign aid.

The most recent attack on civil society groups is said to have greatly affected those dependent upon foreign funding. The Guardian reported that between 2014 and 2017, the Indian government has reduced foreign funding received by civil society, from US$2.05 billion to US$884.50 million.

It is said, by blocking foreign funding, and targeting civil society groups, the Indian government is denying its citizenry the funding it desperately relies upon for everyday life. The critics opine India must recognize the harmful effect of its actions, and work alongside civil society NGOs, to offer its citizenry the best care and provision of human rights possible,

Why are the Civil Society Groups & others upset?

To have some idea about why the Civil Society Groups, as also, the International Organizations are upset, following the amendment of the FCRA Act, 2010, one needs to have a look at the following:

NGOs are actually, meant to be agents of change, who purportedly serve the marginalised sections of society. They are said to perform duties, which the government agencies fail to provide.

However, a look at the activities of two of the frontline International NGOs, Amnesty International & Ford Foundation presents a case in point to the contrary & throws ample light on the disturbing activities of these & similar other outfits in India.

Amnesty International

The world of NGOs is alleged to be a shady mix of exploitation and corruption, disguising itself underneath a pious garb of human rights and humanitarian concerns. Apart from serving as extended arms of the western powers, in their bid to undermine the sovereignty of other countries, NGOs are known to be riddled with numerous vices of their own.

Amnesty International is said to be one of those NGOs, that have a shadowy past and have been trying desperately to meddle with the internal affairs of India. In 2019, it had reportedly decided to start a global campaign in defence of Jihad in Kashmir.

In a video featuring the actor, Naseeruddin Shah, the NGO had claimed that the Constitution was under threat, and dissent is being suppressed in the country. It painted a grim picture of the country, as opposed to the real picture.

On another occasion, Amnesty had claimed that India is becoming a dangerous place for human rights defenders, based on the statement made by arrested Urban Naxal Arun Ferreira. The NGO conveniently ignored the fact that Ferreira was arrested in connection with the violence at Koregaon Bhima, and an alleged assassination plot to murder Prime Minister Modi. It is opined, such inconvenient facts do not matter to Amnesty.

Amnesty International was also accused of having links with the Taliban. Gita Sahgal, the then head of the gender unit at Amnestys international secretariat, going public in 2010, had reportedly condemned the Organization for collaborating with Moazzam Begg, a former British inmate at Guantanamo Bay, a US detention camp for terrorists, that has been the subject of great controversy, and his organization, Cage Prisoners.

It is therefore opined, given the history of Amnesty International allying with radical Islamic fundamentalists, it is not surprising that Amnesty had decided to side with the Jihadists on the Kashmir issue.

In recent times, it appears to be overeager to undermine Indias sovereignty, while violating Indias laws. Amnesty International India, on Monday, 5th of August, 2019, had issued a statement, against the Centres decision to revoke the special status granted to Jammu and Kashmir, saying that it could stoke ongoing tension in the state, and end up alienating the locals. It also cautioned the government that the developments could increase the risk of further human rights violations. This obviously was an unwanted unnecessary interference in the working of a sovereign state like India.

Ford Foundation

In 2018, US-based Ford Foundation had reportedly funded a political party and profit-making organisations illegally. For this, Ford Foundation came under the Home Ministrys scanner and was put on the watch list. An investigation had reportedly found that funds sanctioned by the Ford Foundation to an NGO, had reached a political party, automatically making the donor, liable to face action. The probe reportedly had also found that Ford Foundation had funded several organisations, which do not fall into the category of NGOs, eligible for receiving foreign funds, as they make profits.

The Home Ministry had also reportedly found that Ford Foundation had given funds to at least six NGOs, which were not registered under the FCRA, making the payment illegal.

It is worth noting that, under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, no donor can fund political parties or any organisation which makes profits.

Following the investigation, the Home Ministry had put the Ford Foundation on its watch list, and ordered that all funds coming from the US-based donor, be routed through it, in view of the national security concerns.

The Reserve Bank of India accordingly was requested to instruct all the banks and their branches to ensure that, any fund flow from the Ford Foundation to any person, NGO or organisation in India, should be brought to the notice of the Home Ministry, so that, funds are allowed to be credited into the accounts of the recipient, only after clearance of the Ministry.

Gujarat government had also asked the Home Ministry to take action against Ford Foundation, alleging that the US-based organisation was interfering in internal affairs of the country, and also abetting communal disharmony, through an NGO run by Social Activist Teesta Setalvad.

The action against Ford Foundation came weeks after the Home Ministry froze seven bank accounts of Greenpeace India, and barred it from receiving foreign funds, for allegedly violating FCRA, and prejudicially affecting the countrys public and economic interests.

One should not be under the impression that the Modi Government, which is being targeted by all, including by the Indian National Congress, was the one, which started this trend. We have already seen that the Congress Government under the late Prime Minister, Smt. Indira Gandhi, was instrumental in bringing in the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act in 1976 during the Emergency, which was later amended in 2010 during the Premiership of Dr, Manmohan Singh.

Dr. Manmohan Singh had altered the original FCRA in 2010, by inserting a clause to regulate access to foreign money or hospitality for any activity detrimental to national interest. Under the new provision, any organisation of a political nature was banned from accepting foreign funds.

Modi, it must be understood, has realised the damaging and incendiary voltage of the non-formal sector. During the first term of NDA, the Home Ministry had withdrawn the registration of over 20,000 NGOs. Many more are likely to lose their recognition soon, as they would be unable to comply with the new laws, Prabhu Chawla, the Editorial Director of the New Indian Express had opined in an article in New Indian Express, dated, 27th of September, 2020. NSA, Ajit Dovals reference to the civil society as the new frontiers of war, has to be understood in this context.

Views expressed above are the author's own.

END OF ARTICLE

Original post:
Civil Society the new frontier of War A Critical Analysis of NSA Ajit Dovals observation Part 3 - The Times of India Blog

The National Sheep Association (NSA) is looking forward to meeting sheep farmers from across the country this winter to discuss sheep farmings role in a changing environment.

In a series of face-to-face roadshows, the NSA will explain its work representing the UK sheep farmer, ensuring our sheep sector not only survives, but thrives.

In the South West, the NSA will be hosting its roadshow on Tuesday, December 7 at The Globe in Topsham near Exeter, EX3 0HR.

Phil Stocker, chief executive of the NSA, said the UK is going through the biggest changes to farming experienced in generations, and this within a wider ever-changing world.

Farming, food, and land management are all highly affected by challenges posed by climate change and the loss of the natural world and this is compounded by significant economic, social and political uncertainty, he added.

For sheep farming the UK is on the cusp of big changes in trade patterns with trade deals advanced with Australia and New Zealand, alongside a complete revamp of farming, food and environmental policy that will restructure farm support.

"But while there are many risks and challenges there are equal opportunities and the future is bright for those willing to adapt and move with the changing tides.

Joining NSA to discuss this will be representatives from UK levy boards as well as farmers themselves who will share their approaches to farming successfully in the future.

Mr Stocker continued: NSA is working tirelessly to defend sheep farming, to position it as one of the solutions to many of the worlds challenges, and to take actions to turn opportunities into reality.

"Come along to hear about some of the work being done and also to hear from our members about the route they are taking to succeed in the future.

The roadshows will be free to attend and taking place throughout November and December. All events will begin at 7pm unless otherwise stated. For more information, please visit http://www.nationalsheep.org.uk/events.

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Sheep farmers hit the road to demonstrate sector's place in a changing world - Devon Live

Image courtesy of General Dynamics Mission Systems.

In this Q&A with Dave King, chief technical officer and senior fellow for Cyber Systems at General Dynamics Mission Systems, we discuss: the importance of evolving data-protection systems; the pros and cons of Type 1 vs. Commercial Solutions for Classified (CSfC) vs. Cryptographic High Value Products; and the role encryption will play in the Great Power competition.

Breaking Defense: What do you see as critical information security needs of the military, especially in light of the Great Power competition and all-domain operations? Where do the gaps exist?

Dave King, chief technical officer and senior fellow for Cyber Systems at General Dynamics Mission Systems.

King: Information is a strategic asset and protecting it against adversaries and cyberattacks is crucial to the security of the American people and protection of our nations intellectual property. On one hand, you have the need to know, on the other hand, the need to share the two are conflicting at times.

To ensure the integrity and security of the critical information as attacks are becoming more prevalent and complex, the solutions you integrate for network or storage protection, as well as user access, must be standards-based and modular. We are no longer in the times when you can deploy a crypto solution for 10+ years to secure against nation-state adversaries.

Our security solutions must modernize to integrate cleanly into the new weapon systems to give us the competitive edge. An example would be strong data protection for new, unmanned systems or the explosion of telework environments. Solutions from five years ago may not meet the needs of evolving missions. We need continuous adaption and upgrades to stay ahead of nation-state adversaries.

Another critical piece is military interoperability not only between the U.S. Department of Defense but with Five Eyes and coalition partners. The ability to enable secure communications and data sharing with partners and allies in a dynamic and modular way allow us to make decisions faster and act at the speed of mission relevance.

And finally, the most important critical need is ensuring a trusted supply chain. Both hardware and software products used to protect classified data must follow high-assurance development requirements and processes. A secure supply chain must include security and interoperability standards to ensure components are only from trusted and validated sources.

This is something inherent to traditional Type 1 crypto solutions as opposed to other commercial products or even layered commercial solutions like Commercial Solutions for Classified (CSfC).

Breaking Defense: For our readers who might not be familiar with Commercial Solutions for Classified (CSfC) vs. Type 1 security, what are the considerations for high-assurance in enterprise and tactical missions? Please explain and also connect to the missions and applications used by the military. Why should they care about this?

King: Both CSfC and high-assurance Type 1 solutions can be used to protect classified voice and data communications, but the security approach and lifecycle cost differ quite a bit. Choosing the right security solution should really be based on all your mission needs, which can be difficult to balance; there are many considerations to weigh.

The first thing is risk acceptance. How much risk are you willing to take based on your mission and the security level of the information you are protecting? Type 1 is National Security Agency (NSA) certified for broad use, while CSfC is an NSA approved way of building a solution with the layering of different products. This tends to make CSfC application specific and thus your local Designated Approving Authority (DAA) will need to assess and manage all of the residual risk.

A key point from earlier is supply chain. As I mentioned before, the supply chain for commercial-based products is not as rigorous as Type 1. The configuration management for Type 1 is regulated by the government, which is not true for purely commercial security products; this tends to add additional supply chain risks to CSfC solutions. Type 1 is certainly more trusted.

Another factor is interoperability. NSA Certified products ensure end-to-end interoperability to the government specifications (e.g., HAIPE or EDE-CIS) regardless of product vendor. The government requires all Type 1 network encryptor vendors to pass a well-defined series of interoperability tests.

There are other features that are typically found in Type 1 that are not built into Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) products. First, there are environmental concerns that dictate the need for MIL-STD ruggedization and TEMPEST protections.

Second, there are mission focused features like Render Useless Zeroize for unmanned or leave-behind applications. Finally, the layering approach associated with CSfC can often degrade performance and add size, weight, power, and cost to tactical solutions.

I think there is a lot of confusion in the market about cost comparisons of the two solutions. Network administrators, users, and contracting specialists should really look at both capital and operating expenditures over the lifecycle of the solutions to get a realistic view. I know we have had customers surprised at how the costs for design, implementation, patching, and yearly registration of CSfC solutions add up. There is a perceived advantage of COTS devices and that is handling.

To address these gaps, the government has introduced Cryptographic High Value Products or CHVP encryptors. These products aim to bridge the mission gap joining the high-assurance security of Type 1 products so you get the trusted security and supply chain but with reduced handling and accountability that COTS products offer. I would recommend that your readers check out the GD Live webinar on this topic by visiting gdmissionsystems.com/chvp.

Breaking Defense: What are the ideal data-protection solutions to address warfighter needs in the present tactical scenarios as they relate to JADC2 and distributed operations, as well as continuing operations related to anti-terror?

King: Many of the same key points discussed earlier relate to the Great Power competition. The benefits of Type 1 high-assurance protection of classified data apply here, as well. The goal of JADC2 and all the related programs including ABMS, Project Convergence, and Project Overmatch aim to establish an interconnected tactical network that enables the sharing of sensor data between all military branches in every domain land, air, sea, space, and cyber.

These programs are gearing up to drive toward the right information brought to the right people in a secure manner. Secure access to this information is sure to give us a competitive advantage but again security and interoperability are critical, and must be transparent to the consumers of the information on this network.It must be interoperable with multiple systems and multiple users in multiple countries. We need warfighters focused on decisive actions of the mission, not the logistics behind a secure network or having security be a bottleneck to performance.

Another important element of joint programs where the internal and external attack surface is broadened is end-to-end encryption and strong authentication present at critical-entry points. Network security and confidentiality remains an important element of todays network architectures, including in micro-segmented Zero Trust frameworks.

I would also say that security solutions at the tactical edge like the TACLANE Network Encryption or Tactical Cross Domain Solutions need to right size to the individual user application and be interoperable all the way back to the enterprise and cloud-like infrastructures. Providing this range of security is an imperative because our nations adversaries will go after the weakest link in the chain.

Read more here:
Your tolerance for risk in critical comms will drive your security solution - Breaking Defense

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'India's Support To Afghans Is Clear': MEA Briefs On NSA Meeting, Responds To Pak's Absence - Oakland News Now

SEOUL, South Korea, Nov. 15, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Drivers no longer have to worry about passing a narrow street or facing a car ahead at a dead end even when they are inexperienced.

Hyundai Mobis (KRX 012330) announced on the 15th that it has developed the world's first urban Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) called the Mobis Parking System (MPS), which integrates Narrow Space Assistance (NSA), Reverse Assistance (RA), and Remote Smart Parking Assistance (RSPA).

With the MPS, the car is able to drive itself through a narrow street by avoiding obstructions, drive through the revolving gate of an underground parking lot, or drive backwards at a dead end where two cars are facing each other. All these are made possible at the press of a button.

Hyundai Mobis developed this technology using its own software logic and mass-produced ultrasonic sensors. This technology is based on the fact that, while RADAR and LiDAR sensors are useful for recognizing objects located far away or in high-speed driving, ultrasonic sensors are rather more suitable for narrow streets or underground parking lots. The ultrasonic sensors recognize objects over a short distance, while the software logic and the control system perform self-driving.

One of the core technologies of this system is Narrow Space Assistance (NSA). The car needs only 16 inches of extra space on both sides to drive through a narrow street by itself.

Another core technology is Reverse Assistance (RA). It records the car's travel route on a real-time basis and creates the reverse route by itself at the press of a button. The steering wheel and vehicle speed are controlled automatically.

Aside from the MPS, various other technologies for safety and convenience have been integrated into the system, thereby further enhancing the competitiveness of the driver assistance solution.

The Remote Smart Parking Assistance (RSPA) system is capable of parking a car at a right angle or in parallel by finding an empty space when the driver is out of the car and presses the remote. 3D Surround View Monitor (SVM) provides a better parking experience by showing the area 360 degrees around the car three-dimensionally. Rear-autonomous Emergency Braking (R-AEB) is also noticeable.

Hyundai Mobis will preemptively suggest global automakers to apply related technologies. The application scope will be expanded to purpose-built vehicles (PBV) as well as large SUVs whose popularity is now growing rapidly.

Hyundai Mobis is showing one automated urban driving technology after another and is resolved to lead the new future vehicle market represented by PBV. The company presented its M.Vision Pop, an exceptionally small urban mobility concept, in March, and has also succeeded in developing a foldable steering system and a 90-degree rotating e-corner module for shared autonomous vehicles last month.

Hyundai Mobis became the first company in the world to develop the new automated urban driving technology called the Mobis Parking System (MPS), which enables Narrow Space Assistance (NSA), Reverse Assistance (RA), and Remote Smart Parking Assistance (RSPA). Researchers are testing related technologies at Hyundai Mobis Seosan Proving Ground.

About Hyundai Mobis

Hyundai Mobis is the global no.7 global automotive supplier, with annual sales of nearly $30 billion USD. The company was founded in 1977 and is headquartered in Seoul, Korea. Hyundai Mobis aims to become a lifelong technology partner for vehicles and people. The company has outstanding expertise in sensors, sensor fusion in ECUs and software development for safety control. The company's products also include various components for electrification, brakes, chassis and suspension, steering, airbags, lighting and automotive electronics. Hyundai Mobis currently employs more than 30,000 people worldwide. With the R&D headquarter in Korea, Mobis operates 4 technology centers in Germany, China, India and the United States.

For more information, please visit the website at http://mobis.co.kr/

Media Contact

Jihyun Han, jihyun.han@mobis.co.kr

Choon Kee Hwang, ckhwang@mobis.co.kr

Related Links :

http://mobis.co.kr/

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Hyundai Mobis to assist driving in a narrow street with its new automated urban driving system - The Korea Herald

Ghosts, goblins and ghouls could be seen excitedly running around at the 10th annual North Star Academy (NSA) Trunk or Treat event held in the schools parking lot on Thursday, October 28, 2021. Students from this K-8 tuition-free, charter public school arrived well in advance of the highly anticipated start time to experience this safe, fun trick-or-treating celebration that has become an NSA tradition.

We were so excited to be able to host this community-building event again this year. Its become such a wonderful tradition that our families and staff look forward to, said NSA Principal Kendra Hossfeld. The celebration gets bigger and better each year thanks to the creativity of our dedicated parent volunteers and the excitement and participation from our committed staff members.

Trunk-or-Treat is NSAs version of a school Halloween party, only on a giant scale. The elementary classes have 1-2 dedicated room parents who help coordinate the event including choosing and executing a theme, decorating and costume planning and making in addition to set-up and clean-up. Additional volunteers are recruited to help with middle school vehicles/trunks since these grades dont have room parents. Each year about 50-60 NSA parent volunteers put in hundreds of hours over the course of several months to create the beloved annual event.

Each trunk took at least 20-30 man-hours worth of planning and total execution. The thought and detail that go into each trunk are just amazing, and some of the end results were just jaw-dropping, said NSA room parent volunteer Jenn Child.

Students and their siblings dressed up in costumes with candy sacks in hand and trunk-or-treated from decorated vehicles hosted by 12 staff members in the NSA parking lot. Staff members dressed in coordinating costumes to complement the trunk themes and handed out candy donated by NSA families. Life-size versions Dog the Bounty Hunter, Cat in the Hat, Sharks, Nuts about North Star and Hocus Pocus to name a few of the amazing themes that drew lines of student trick-or-treaters into the school parking lot where kids could be heard yelling, Trick or treat! in the chill in the night air.

The 8th graders brought the spookiness inside the school with their annual Haunted Hallway fundraising event. Students donated $2 per trip to go through the Haunted Hallway where shrieks and screams could be heard as NSA 8th graders jumped out of corners and various props to the delight and fright of the participants. In its 8th year, this tradition helps the 8th-grade class raise money for their annual trip to Washington D.C.

Trunk or Treat at NSA is one of the best events of the school year and certainly the highlight of the fall season. The event unites so many staff members and parents as they come together to pull this event off, said Child. Its really an event where our NSA community celebrates the season together. This year seemed extra special because we werent able to hold the event last year. NSA is really like a family and this night was like a family reunion. It was such a fun night with an incredible turn out.

The event also included food trucks, a cakewalk and a 24 inflatable slide. New this year was the Best Decorated Vehicle contest won by Dog the Bounty Hunter in which staff participants and decorators split a $200 prize, bragging rights and a fun trophy.

I look forward to Trunk or Treat every year, and because COVID cancelled last years event, I was extra excited for this year. It is such a fun activity that the school blows out of the water every time. The event really brings the school together as a community and lets everyone show some of their creative sides while letting us kids have fun and make memories through getting candy, going through the cakewalk, riding down blow-up slides and creating a scary haunted hallway, said NSA 8th grader Addison Gilbreth. This Trunk or Treat was by far my favorite because I got to be an actress in the Haunted Hallway and was able to make lasting memories with friends that I will not forget. I am so thankful that I was able to be a part of this and will miss it when going to high school.

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Ghosts, Ghouls and Goblins Haunted North Star Academy During Annual Trunk or Treat Event | YourHub - The Know

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Tuesday met Victor Makhmudov, Secretary, Security Council of Uzbekistan and both agreed that the future of Afghanistan must be decided by the people of Afghanistan themselves and the legitimacy of any Afghan government within Afghanistan was important before the issue of its international recognition. The meeting was held in New Delhi, ahead of the Delhi Regional Security Dialogue on Afghanistan.

Afghanistan was the major focus of discussions, sources said adding that both countries felt that the legitimacy of any Afghan government within Afghanistan is important before the issue of its international recognition. During the meeting, the NSAs also highlighted the need for long term economic development in Afghanistan.

"Both sides emphasized the need for Afghanistan's neighbours to ensure unhindered access of humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan," sources said. "They also agreed that neighbouring states must play a constructive role in Afghanistan," the sources added.

Meanwhile, the Indian NSA also held discussions with Nasrullo Rahmatjon Mahmudzoda, Secretary, Security Council of Tajikistan and exchanged views on Afghanistan. NSA Doval is expected to hold meetings with the Russian counterpart Patrushev, Secretary of Supreme National Security Council - Iran, Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani and Chairman of Kazakhstan's National Security Committee, Karim Massimov on November 10.

During the dialogue, India, along with seven other countries, will discuss in detail terror threats emanating from within Afghanistan and around it. Extremism and radicalisation are also key concerns among many participants. (ANI)

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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NSA Doval, Uzbek counterpart agree that legitimacy of any government in Afghanistan is important before issue of international recognition -...

Artificial intelligence and machine learning capacities are allowing analysts to produce quicker, more streamlined assessments.

Americas national security organizations have begun applying AI to more quickly and effectively produce intelligence assessments.

Speaking at the GovernmentCIO Media & Research AI: National Security virtual event, Director of the National Security Agency (NSA) Research Directorate Mark Segal discussed how these new capacities are assisting intelligence analysts in better processing and sorting large quantities of often complex and disparate information.

In outlining the NSAs research priorities, Segal noted that both AI and machine-learning capacities already showed promise for better organizing the large pools of variable data their analysts sort through in producing regular assessments.

One of the challenges that we have found AI to be particularly useful for is looking through the sheer amount of data that's created every day on this planet. Our analysts are looking at some of this data trying to understand it, and understand what its implications are for national security. The amount of data that we have to sort is going up pretty dramatically, but the number of people that we have who are actually looking at this data is pretty constant. So we're constantly looking for tools and technologies to help our analysts more effectively go through huge piles of data, Segal said.

This application of AI to analysis has the potential to expedite the delivery of actionable intelligence to policymakers as well, who are able to more quickly and conclusively come to decisions based on a more effective sorting of available information.

We analyze information and then provide that analysis to policymakers. For example, lets say we're looking at a large pile of documents and trying to understand what the intentions of another country are by looking through that data quickly. We want to zoom in immediately on the most important parts of that data, and have our skilled analysts say, We think this entity is doing a specific thing, and then leave that to the policymakers to determine how we might respond, Segal said.

Segal cautioned that agency technologists need to start with a realistic understanding of AI and machine learning to make most effective use of these new capacities, and to see them in terms of how they can concretely refine internal processes and advance their organizations key aims.

One of the biggest risks about AI right now is that there's this huge amount of hype surrounding it AI is a tool just like any other tool. And the way that you use a tool is to figure out where it would be effective, and where it would actually help solve a problem in our research organization. One of the things that we try to do is actually look at the technology in order to apply it to real problems and analyze the results in a scientifically rigorous manner, Segal said.

Segal also cautioned agencies to avoid creating undue biases within their algorithms, as these built-in flaws would ultimately distort the resulting analysis in ways that are either ineffective or potentially dangerous if they go uncorrected.

A lot of machine-learning algorithms are trained on data, and one of the challenges that can emerge there is that if the data is biased, its going to affect the output," Segal said. "For example, with facial-recognition software, if the training data only has people that have a certain hair type, or a certain skin color, or certain facial features, it will not work in practice because when you encounter other data that you've not seen before, the algorithm will behave in unpredictable ways."

One of the most promising applications NSA researchers have begun exploring is automated data sorting, using AI to sift through large quantities of documents and identify relevant information far more quickly than a human worker would be able to.

Imagine you've got a very large pile of documents, and in some of these documents there are really important things you want analysts to look at while some of the other documents are completely irrelevant. So one of the ways that we've used AI and machine learning in particular is we can have a trained human look at a subset of these documents and train a model to say which ones are really important and which ones are less important. Once you've trained a model and have enough data that you train the model successfully, you can go through a much larger collection of documents much more quickly than a human being could do it, Segal said.

Another concrete use case that aligns AI with operational efficiency is using tailored algorithms to convert speech to text.

If you can do that, you can make that text searchable, which once again makes the analyst more productive. So instead of listening to thousands of hours of audio to hear one relevant audio clip, you put in a few keywords and scan all this processed text, Segal said.

Segal emphasized that no matter how advanced these capacities become, national security institutions should continue evaluating AI for both potential biases, as well as through the central criteria as to whether or not these new uses are conducive to their longstanding mission.

I think the main way that we do that is when we try these experiments, pilot studies and different techniques, we have a way of quantitatively measuring its effectiveness. When it proves to be effective, we refine the techniques. And when it proves not to be effective, we take a step back and think about why it failed, Segal said.

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AI Helping to Refine Intelligence Analysis - GovernmentCIO Media & Research