Pentagon Looks To Better Prep For Cyber Warfare
As it turns out, Swine Flu just might be the least of our worries on a national scale; according to a top official within the US government, cyber espionage and attacks from terror groups are the biggest threats to the country's military computer networks. We've seen time and time again that attacks on our network infrastructure can bring down entire branches or departments and paralyze security personnel, so we suppose the news isn't all that surprising.
Air Force Gen. Kevin Chilton, who heads U.S. Strategic Command, admitted that he worries that foes will "learn to disable or distort battlefield communications." Telling reporters at the Pentagon, he stated that even as the Pentagon improves its network defenses against hackers, he needs "more people, training and resources to hone offensive cyber war capacity." Of course, he made sure to warn those listening that the United States would consider military force against an enemy that attacked or disputed the nation's vital networks.
The comments come during a time where the government is already setting up a new cyber command at Fort Meade in Maryland that would report to Strategic Command, and considering that the Pentagon's unclassified networks are "probed thousands of times a day as hackers try to steal information on military programs or planning," we'd say the extra wall of security couldn't come soon enough. In a worse case scenario, enemies could intercept direct orders ("Attack Left" or "Hold Back") and then react accordingly. Needless to say, this is definitely a matter of national security, and currently, the US is a few steps behind on the so-called "digital battlefield."
Air Force Gen. Kevin Chilton, who heads U.S. Strategic Command, admitted that he worries that foes will "learn to disable or distort battlefield communications." Telling reporters at the Pentagon, he stated that even as the Pentagon improves its network defenses against hackers, he needs "more people, training and resources to hone offensive cyber war capacity." Of course, he made sure to warn those listening that the United States would consider military force against an enemy that attacked or disputed the nation's vital networks.
The comments come during a time where the government is already setting up a new cyber command at Fort Meade in Maryland that would report to Strategic Command, and considering that the Pentagon's unclassified networks are "probed thousands of times a day as hackers try to steal information on military programs or planning," we'd say the extra wall of security couldn't come soon enough. In a worse case scenario, enemies could intercept direct orders ("Attack Left" or "Hold Back") and then react accordingly. Needless to say, this is definitely a matter of national security, and currently, the US is a few steps behind on the so-called "digital battlefield."
