Military leaders embrace idea of cyber command
The cyber command, expected to be announced in days, would help the Defense Department keep up with the changing technology and tactics of cyber warfare, current and former officials say.
Cybersecurity is Topic A this week in the Defense Department.
Two of the military’s most tech-savvy leaders will tell Congress today that the Defense Department needs a cyber command to take the lead on digital warfare, according to a report by Lolita C. Baldor of the Associated Press.
In prepared testimony, Lt. Gen. Keith Alexander, director of the National Security Agency, says DOD needs more resources and training to help the services keep up with rapidly changing technologies.
The department largely depends on the technology industry to counter cyber threats, but that is not enough, said Lt. Gen. William Shelton, the Air Force’s chief of warfighting integration, according to his prepared testimony.
President Barack Obama is expected to announce the cyber command in days, sources say. According to Reuters, he is likely to appoint a four-star general to lead the command, which is expected to be part of the U.S. Strategic Command.
In time, the administration might look to move the cyber command into a different structure, focusing on the cyber and space arenas, says John Gilligan, a former Air Force chief information officer, in an article by Federal News Radio’s Jason Miller.
A point of reference: A blogger known as the Armchair Generalist cites a senior DOD official as saying that attacks against DOD or DOD-related sites have doubled in the last six months.
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