US needs 'digital warfare force'
The head of America's National Security Agency says that America needs
to build a digital warfare force for the future, according to reports.
Lt Gen Keith Alexander, who also heads the Pentagon's new Cyber Command,
outlined his views in a report for the House Armed Services
subcommittee.
In it, he stated that the US needed to reorganise its offensive and
defensive cyber operations.
The general also said more resources and training were needed.
The report, part of which was outlined in an Associated Press news
agency story, is due to be presented to the subcommittee on Tuesday.
During the past six months, the Pentagon spent more than £67m ($100m)
responding to and repairing damage from cyber attacks and other network
problems.
Gen Keith Alexander's new department, to be based in Fort Meade in
Maryland, will be part of the US Strategic Command - currently
responsible for securing the US military's networks - and will work
alongside the US Department of Homeland Security.
It is thought the new department would open in October and be at full
strength in 2010.
Self defence
A separate document, from the US Air Force's chief information officer
Lt Gen William Shelton, said the US relies heavily on industry efforts
to respond to cyber threats which, he says, "does not keep pace with the
threat".
Peter Wood, operations chief with First Base Technologies and an expert
in cyber-warfare, said that the US were entirely within their rights to
protect themselves.
"My own view is that the only way to counteract both criminal and
espionage activity online is to be proactive. If the US is taking a
formal approach to this, then that has to be a good thing.
"The Chinese are viewed as the source of a great many attacks on western
infrastructure and, just recently, the US national grid. If that is
determined to be an organised attack, I would want to go and take down
the source of those attacks," he said.
"The only problem is that the internet - by its very nature - has no
borders and if the US takes on the mantle of the world's police; that
might not go down so well."
The submissions to the House Armed Services subcommittee comes a few
days after the National Research Council - part of the United States
National Academy of Sciences - said that current US policies on cyber
warfare are "ill-formed, lack adequate oversight and require a broad
public debate".
The report went on to say that the "undeveloped and uncertain nature" of
the US governments cyber warfare policies could lead to them being
misused in a possible crisis.
The US administration is due imminently to publish the results of a
60-day review on cyber-security ordered by President Obama.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.
Published: 2009/05/05 13:47:10 GMT
Wednesday, 6 May 2009
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