Pentagon’s Cyberdefense is not Prepared

Our government’s cyber-security is still a hot topic as more and more news of attacks are reported. Over the past few weeks I have written on the DoD’s plans to combat this security threat, initially looking at their desire to greatly expand the cyber-security workforce, and then I followed up with the discussion of the related happenings that took place around the time of the recent Presidential State of the Union address.

Now, in a more recent article at The Washington Post, we are told that “A new report for the Pentagon concludes that the nation’s military is unprepared for a full-scale cyber-conflict with a top-tier adversary and must ramp up its offensive prowess.” As shocking as that may seem, probably the most startling point I found in this article was:

In one of the more critical comments, the report notes that Pentagon “red” teams established to test the military’s cyberdefense abilities have “relative ease .?.?. in disrupting, or completely beating, our forces in exercises using exploits [software] available on the Internet.”

Unlike wars of the distant past, current and future attacks will come from land, air, and the computer. Informational wars continue to be battled almost daily as hackers come in from every side seeking a hole. “The DoD should expect cyber attacks to be part of all conflicts in the future, and should not expect competitors to play by our version of the rules, but instead apply their rules.” Attackers crashing vital communication systems can cause havoc with those in the field. Page 5 of this 138 page report even speaks of the dangers of a hacker getting in during war time and causing guns, missiles and bombs to either not fire or fire on the wrong location.

"The benefits to an attacker using cyber exploits are potentially spectacular. Should the United States find itself in a full-scale conflict with a peer adversary, attacks would be expected to include denial of service, data corruption, supply chain corruption, traitorous insiders, kinetic and related non-kinetic attacks at all altitudes from underwater to space. U.S. guns, missiles, and bombs may not fire, or may be directed against our own troops. Resupply, including food, water, ammunition, and fuel may not arrive when or where needed. Military Commanders may rapidly lose trust in the information and ability to control U.S. systems and forces. Once lost, that trust is very difficult to regain."

To me, a lot of this begins to sound like the fearful situations that were reported to be possible back when the Y2K issue was upon us, and in fact the similarities are real. Our world has become so dependent on our technology, that to suddenly be without it would be pretty devastating, for both the military and civilians. The report continues:

"The impact of a destructive cyber attack on the civilian population would be even greater

With no electricity, money, communications, TV, radio, or fuel (electrically pumped). In a short time, food and medicine distribution systems would be ineffective; transportation would fail or become so chaotic as to be useless. Law enforcement, medical staff, and emergency personnel capabilities could be expected to be barely functional in the short term and dysfunctional over sustained periods. If the attack’s effects were reversible, damage could be limited to an impact equivalent to a power outage lasting a few days. If an attack’s effects cause physical damage to control systems, pumps, engines, generators, controllers, etc., the unavailability of parts and manufacturing capacity could mean months to years are required to rebuild and reestablish basic infrastructure operation."

Technology is here to stay, and preparing for the future abuses of it will always be needed. The need for more manpower in this area is great, both in the government and civilian workforces. Those with the skills and abilities to fill such slots may wish to begin researching requirements and acquiring advanced training in order to move into the area of cyber-security or other related technology positions.

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