Point(s) of Contact
Jeanne Everett / FSO
843.751.3233
jeanne@appliedsecurityknowledge.com
Richard Carmichael / ITPSO
678.221.7834
rcarmichael@laochservices.com
DoD Hotline
dodig.mil/hotline / 800.424.9098
SOURCE: Iowa Capital Dispatch by Clark Kauffman – August 4, 2026
A group of western Iowa businessmen are being sued over an alleged "brazen and coordinated scheme" to take over highly classified work for the federal government by poaching employees and stealing trade secrets from their employer.
Oaklea Simpson Security, a Westminster, Maryland, company, is suing several former employees of its Iowa office in Mills County, including Douglas Grave of Glenwood; Rex Thomas of Treynor; Wesley Carter of Malvern; Steven Douglas of Omaha, and Timothy Sullivan of Chesapeake, Virginia. Corporate co-defendants include the newly formed CODA Data Sciences Inc. of Omaha and Intuitive Research and Technology Corporation, or IRTC, of Texas.
Oaklea is alleging the defendants, while still employed by Oaklea, participated in a "brazen and coordinated scheme" to secretly form CODA Data Sciences as a competing business. The defendants are accused of systematically misappropriating "vast amounts" of Oaklea's confidential information and trade secrets while orchestrating a mass resignation of 24 Oaklea employees and diverting to CODA a multimillion-dollar government contract once held by Oaklea.
SOURCE: Nextgov/FCW by David DiMolfetta – August 4, 2026
Years after federal regulators invoked national security grounds to push three Chinese state-owned telecommunications providers out of the American market, the companies never fully left, a new House probe has found.
China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom retained equipment, data-center space and connections to other networks in the United States after the Federal Communications Commission denied or revoked their authority to provide certain telecommunications services, according to a nearly 50-page bipartisan House China Committee investigation planned for release Tuesday and first seen by Nextgov/FCW.
From 2019 to 2022, the FCC denied China Mobile USA's application to provide international service and revoked authorizations held by China Telecom Americas and China Unicom Americas. But those actions did not require the companies to remove equipment, leave data centers or sever private network links, and the carriers continued offering enterprise networking, internet transit and other services, the panel found.
SOURCE: AOL by Jack Kaminsky – August1, 2026
A coalition of international governments issued a joint security advisory on July 31, warning private companies, remote hiring platforms, and foreign entities against an ongoing network of North Korean IT workers using fake identities to gain employment and funnel salaries toward the country's weapons programs.
According to the official alert, Pyongyang relies on a coordinated system of skilled technology workers stationed inside North Korea and overseas to remotely secure contracts in software development, mobile application design, and blockchain engineering.
The workers impersonate foreign nationals on commercial hiring platforms, remitting their income back to state agencies that fund North Korea's unlawful nuclear weapons and ballistic missile initiatives.
SOURCE: NBC News by Daniel Arkin, Michael Kosnar and Ben Goggin – July 31, 2026 Updated August 3, 2026
Cyberattacks targeting municipal water systems have been reported in at least seven states this week, prompting the FBI and the Environmental Protection Agency to warn utilities nationwide that hackers are trying to disrupt critical water infrastructure.
In a public service announcement Thursday, the agencies said water and wastewater utilities have reported incidents to the FBI, with some malicious activity degrading water operations. The announcement does not name the states.
The warning comes after hackers targeted more than 30 municipal water facilities in Minnesota in an attack that had hallmarks of Iranian meddling, according to a law enforcement official. It is still under investigation.
A spokesperson for Minnesota's information technology services agency said Thursday there was no indication the breaches contaminated any municipal water supplies. The federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said in a separate alert that some larger attacks on water infrastructure had "resulted in boil water notices and sustained manual operations," though it did not say where.
SOURCE: Federal News Network by Terry Gerton – August 7, 2026
"The whole point and the principle behind having these different certifications is to make sure that somebody is coming in behind you," said Angie Lienert.
Guest: Angie Lienert and Jeremiah Jensen
Title: IntelliGenesis
Summary: Government often relies on industry to invest ahead of future requirements. The recent pause in CMMC implementation is raising questions about how contractors weigh risk, cost and the value of moving first.
Terry Gerton Angie, you at IntelliGenesis made the decision to pursue CMMC Level 2 certification before it was required. That's certainly a topic of interest these days. Why did you decide to move early rather than wait and see?
Angie Lienert We decided to move early because we were starting to see some of the CMMC requirements language coming out in some of the most recent contract solicitations. And we realized at that point that we don't anticipate any changes. We do see that the government is going to move forward with their plans. And we want to make sure that we are going to be in the position to be awarded some of those contracts. And in order to ensure that availability of reward, we need to go ahead and with the steps and secure our CMMC level two certification. So we did.
Terry Gerton So you viewed it as a source of competitive advantage.
Angie Lienert Not only competitive advantage, I mean, really out of necessity. If the government is mandating, this is a requirement for you…
SOURCE: ClearanceJobs by John Berry – August 9, 2026
For many security clearance applicants and holders, having ties to another country is simply a part of modern life. Individuals may have been born overseas, hold dual citizenship, own foreign property, or have family living abroad. While none of these circumstances automatically prevent someone from obtaining or maintaining a security clearance, they can raise concerns under Guideline C – Foreign Preference of the National Security Adjudicative Guidelines (Security Executive Agent Directive 4).
Through our practice of representing individuals in clearance matters, we have found that Guideline C is often misunderstood. Many individuals assume that any connection to another country is disqualifying. In reality, adjudicators are concerned with whether an individual's actions demonstrate a preference for a foreign country over the interests of the United States.
What Is Guideline C?
SOURCE: CDSE
In 2021, a former U.S. Air Force contractor, Izaak Vincent Kemp, was sentenced to federal prison for removing classified documents from his workplace and storing them in his Fairborn, Ohio home. Between 2016 and 2019, Kemp worked at the nearby Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and U.S. Air Force National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC), both located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
Authorities first discovered the documents at Kemp's home by happenstance. In May 2019, the Fairborn Police Department (FPD) conducted an unrelated search of the premises; acting on information Kemp was operating a marijuana growing facility, officers noticed several clearly marked, classified documents. FPD alerted federal authorities who subsequently recovered more than one hundred SECRET-classified documents, approximately 2,500 pages in total, from Kemp's residence.
SOURCE: ODNI
There are a number of security risks inherent in the use of smartphones and tablets, but there are some simple and common sense things you can do to protect your data and your privacy. Be Aware:
Applications Are Not Always What They Seem…
SOURCE: Consumer FTC by BCP Staff – August 6, 2026
Getting ready for college or back-to-school is a good time to talk with your teens about financial wellness. To help guide the conversation, the FTC has free tools on managing money, building credit, and protecting against identity theft. Creating good habits takes time, but here are some ideas to get you started.