If your business gets hacked, don\u2019t bother calling the U.S. military\u2019s new Cyber Command. Sure, the unit has some of the government\u2019s top geeks \u2014 and is oh-so-conveniently co-located with the network infiltration experts at the National Security Agency. But Cyber Command is too busy trying to shore up the Pentagon\u2019s digital defenses. Plus, they\u2019re not even sure helping your company out would be legal, yet.<\/p>\n
“Right now, we do not have a role,” new Cyber Command chief Gen. Keith Alexander tells reporters in a rare on-the-record interview. “Within the United States, I do not believe that\u2019s where Cyber Command should or will operate.”<\/p>\n
Changing that, Alexander adds, “is a decision the White House needs to make.”<\/p>\n
Of course, it\u2019s often hard to define where one national border begins and another ends on-line. The White House and Congress are both working on legal and policy re-writes which could alter where and how Cyber Command\u2019s forces could wage information combat. Besides, Alexander already has forces that are operating domestically. He\u2019s also the head of the NSA, which today works with American companies to secure their networks.<\/p>\n
Debates have raged for years in military and policymaking circles about what a Cyber Command might do: drop logic bombs on adversaries, protect the Pentagon\u2019s networks, seal up civilian vulnerabilities, or some combination of all three. As recently as this spring, Cyber Command officials were floating the idea of helping rescue pwned government and civilian networks, much like the military contributes to disaster recovery efforts like the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s also been a parallel discussion about how much the military should do to defend utilities, banks, and other so-called \u201ccritical infrastructure\u201d that\u2019s in private hands. Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn recently proposed that the Pentagon establish some sort of hacker-free on-line space for these industries. The companies could opt to join, or they could face the \u201cwild wild west of the unprotected internet.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alexander likes the general outlines of Lynn\u2019s proposal. \u201cSo you\u2019re going to have what I\u2019ll call a secure zone, a protected zone to have your government and critical infrastructure to work in this part. And then we have the zone over here where my kids and I talk,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
But Alexander notes that his new military unit couldn\u2019t be a part of that operation. \u201cCyber Command only works inside the DOD [Department of Defense] networks today, and that\u2019s all our authorities allow us to do \u2014 defend and operate within our networks,\u201d he says. \u201cWe cannot go out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Well, except when they can.<\/p>\n
Alexander adds that his command \u201cstand[s] ready to execute the full spectrum of cyber operations on command. And stay prepared to defend our nation\u2019s freedom of action in cyberspace.”<\/p>\n
\u201cIn an area of hostilities, under an execute order, we could be given additional authority,\u201d he continues. And if directed, Cyber Command could \u201chelp DHS defend their networks,\u201d as well.<\/p>\n
Then there\u2019s the funny paradox that comes from Alexander running two organizations at once. His 1,000-person, $150 million-a-year military unit may be not currently be allowed into civilian U.S. networks, but his hush-hush (and much, much larger) intelligence agency has been operating inside the American telecommunications infrastructure for decades.<\/p>\n
Alexander responds by pointing out that the NSA really is a pair of organizations under one roof. \u201cRemember, NSA has two functions,\u201d he says. There are the eavesdroppers in the signals-intelligence directorate. And there\u2019s the information-assurance directorate, the guys who make sure government (and sometimes corporate) networks systems are hacker- and eavesdropper-free. (That\u2019s why a small handful of observers have called for the NSA to be split in two.)<\/p>\n
But the lines between the two halves of the NSA \u2014 and between Cyber Command and the NSA \u2014 aren\u2019t always so bright. Alexander says that his two organizations will draw on one other\u2019s expertise. \u201cWe couldn\u2019t afford to replicate an NSA to do what we\u2019re doing. It\u2019d be fiscally irresponsible,\u201d he says. \u201cSo, from my perspective, it\u2019s a good deal. Plus, I didn\u2019t have to move out of my office.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-13323","opinion","type-opinion","status-publish","hentry","entry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mecouncil-afkar.fuegodigitalmedia.qa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/opinion\/13323","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mecouncil-afkar.fuegodigitalmedia.qa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/opinion"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mecouncil-afkar.fuegodigitalmedia.qa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/opinion"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mecouncil-afkar.fuegodigitalmedia.qa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}