January 2012

This crazy mixture of digital natives and digital immigrants has everyone flummoxed. Throw into this mix the roles of buyers and sellers.

The talents Eric Schneider brings to AFCEA all started with making extra money as a disc jockey in this family’s nightclubs in south Florida, where he also helped bands set up and ran the sound board for them. Now, he’s the go-to person in the Montgomery Chapter whenever audio-visual assistance is needed.

Now comprising more than 2,000 organizations, AFCEA’s corporate membership program is growing both in the United States and internationally.

With the new year only a few days old, one of the information technology industry's biggest security firms is out with its annual predictions of the top cybersecurity threats for 2012. David Marcus, director of security research with McAfee Labs and a principal co-author of the study, says threats against industrial and industry networks top the list.

Cyberspace has become a new dimension in warfare and defense. And, just like the other dimensions—air, land and sea—it requires special operation tactics and technologies. Given the many advantages offered by cyberwarfare—low cost, widespread applicability and ease of operation—it is likely to be the weapon of choice for future aggressors menacing NATO and its allies.

The challenges presented by the Asia-Pacific region in the 21st century are complex and diverse, and the U.S. military must carry out an increasingly changing mission under tightening budget constraints. The United States must adapt to ensure that it can address these and many other concerns, including cyberspace security of military and commercial networks, that will play a significant role in determining the future of the Asia-Pacific region.

The revolution in information technology has been a boon to military command and control capabilities, but it also has introduced a new set of challenges to operational commanders. These technologies have complicated the process of command and control while simultaneously softening the basic understanding of its principles.

The U.S. Defense Department is aggressively pursuing cloud-computing options in the midst of budget cuts and personnel reductions. Pilot programs are in place around the uniformed services, experimenting with ways to enhance efficiency while ensuring security.

For most of the economies in the world, 2012 should continue to be a recovery year. This will prolong the pressure placed on budgets in defense, intelligence and homeland security. In the command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) and information technology business—our focus—budget cuts often are not as great as in other sectors. However, the price is that expectations are high for information-driven savings that can be applied to reductions in the out years.

The international mining community is racing to turn the tables on the People’s Republic of China by challenging its absolute dominance of the market for rare earths, a series of elements in the periodic table critical for the U.S. military’s high-technology communications and weaponry.