President Donald J. Trump sent Congress a proposed Fiscal Year 2021 budget request of $740.5 billion for national security, $705.4 billion of which is for the Department of Defense (DOD), department officials announced today.
Cyber
February 14, 2020
The U.S. Army its transforming its Department of the Army’s Management Office-Cyber (DAMO-CY) to include a wider range of joint all-domain operations capabilities.
Col. Jay Chapman, USA, division chief, Mission Command, in the Army CIO/G-6 office, revealed the change at a February 13 luncheon event in Arlington, Virginia, hosted by the AFCEA Washington, D.C. chapter.
February 1, 2020
Long-discussed cybersecurity issues such as cultural attitudes, innovation and supply chain vulnerability are now at the top of the U.S. Navy’s information technology action list as it faces a multifaceted threat to information dominance. Current conditions present a sense of urgency in efforts to upgrade Navy and Marine Corps information assets, but the services also face a window of opportunity that they can exploit.
February 1, 2020
Before the end of the fiscal year, the U.S. Navy intends to deliver an early version of the Information Warfare Platform to two ships, the USS Lincoln and USS Bataan before fielding more comprehensive systems to the Theodore Roosevelt Strike Group. The new capability will be enabled in part by artificial intelligence, machine learning and so-called digital twins. It is expected to offer the ability to acquire, test, install and field technologies at a faster, more affordable rate while also enhancing cybersecurity.
February 1, 2020
As part of the Department of the Navy’s aggressive effort to improve its data environment in its information infrastructure, the department appointed Tom Sasala, Senior Executive Service (SES), to oversee the its data management, establishing the policies and the governance around the data fabric of the department.
The Department of the Navy, or DON, was already on a path to improve its data management when Congress passed the Open Government Data Act in January. The measure required cabinet-level agencies in the military departments to create a chief data officer position.
February 1, 2020
More than half of organizations today are not prepared to handle cyber attacks and data breaches, according to a recent report from FireEye. Updating operating systems, patches and even cloud strategies is a start for addressing the problem today, but technology only offers one, often over-emphasized, leg of support.
January 27, 2020
By now, it’s well known there is a cybersecurity workforce gap throughout all levels of government, academia and industry. The Center for Strategic and International Studies found in a survey of IT decisionmakers across eight countries that 82 percent of employers report a shortage of cybersecurity skills, and 71 percent believe this talent gap causes direct and measurable damage to their organizations.
January 16, 2020
Essye Miller, principal deputy, Department of Defense chief information officer (DOD CIO), wants to reshape the cyber workforce conversation. And, she told the audience at the Cyber Education, Research and Training Symposium (CERTS), she needs their help.
January 16, 2020
The most senior military cyber warfighters have defined the challenge of building a world-class cybersecurity workforce: We have great performers but not enough. Our accessions can barely keep pace with attrition; but we are scheduled to grow. We need a viable plan to increase capacity.
During a panel session at the Cyber Education, Research and Training Symposium (CERTS) in Augusta, Georgia, cybersecurity leaders discussed how to build the people who can protect the nation against the tens of thousands of very high-end professionals that Russia and China are putting out.
January 15, 2020
Lt. Gen. Stephen G. Fogarty, USA, commanding general, U.S. Army Cyber Command, is preparing for the command's move from Fort Belvoir, Virginia, to Fort Gordon in Georgia later this year. Top of mind for the general though is not the physical move, it’s the people.
“It’s all about the people,” stressed Gen. Fogarty during his keynote at the third annual Cyber Education, Research and Training Symposium (CERTS) in Augusta, Georgia. “We cannot have a failure to imagine” what the future cyber workforce looks like.
January 14, 2020
Applying artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) cybersecurity is a “hard problem,” but one with significant and promising progress, according to intelligence experts. Achieving this will require a combination of top-down and bottom-up efforts that leverage both government and industry cooperation, as each can benefit from unique capabilities and contributions of the other.
January 14, 2020
Last year was a banner year for cyber fraud. In just the first six months of 2019, more than 3,800 breaches exposed 4.1 billion records, with 3.2 billion of those records exposed by just eight breaches. The scale of last year’s data breaches underscores the fact that identity has become the currency of the digital world and data is the fuel that powers the digital economy. What’s also clear looking back on 2019 is that digital identities are continually being compromised on multiple levels.
January 9, 2020
The U.S. Defense Department is providing the strategic template for cyber progress, which the military services must implement according to their own priorities and requirements. However, not all the parameters are sharply defined, and the department is responsible to Congress for ensuring that money is spent wisely and goals are met.
The department must determine “adequacy” as it reviews individual service cyber plans, and it is up to the department to explain to Congress where there is an inadequacy and why. This issue was described by Maj. Gen. Dennis A. Crall, USMC, deputy principal cyber advisor and senior military advisor for cyber policy, to an audience at an AFCEA NOVA Chapter luncheon on January 9.
January 6, 2020
There are certainly similarities between network resilience and cyber resilience. The foundation for both is the ability to maintain business or mission capabilities during an event, such as a backhoe cutting your fiber cables or a nation-state actively exploiting your network. But there are also significant differences.
January 1, 2020
Mobile technology is not always available to military or government personnel in all environments. Operating in a secure facility requires cellular phones or other mobile devices to be stowed outside the door. Companies are preparing solutions to enable the use of mobile devices in such accredited facilities in ways not seen before.
“The Defense Department deals with very sophisticated adversaries, and as a result, those devices are banned in many places and need to be controlled,” says Mike Fong, founder and CEO of Privoro.
January 1, 2020
The U.S. military relies heavily on companies to research, develop and manufacture innovative technologies to support missions. This hasn’t always been the case. A century ago, it was often the armed services that conceived and created the latest solutions. But when the world goes to war, it’s all hands on deck.
With unlimited resources, delving into fantastical technical solutions is easy. However, in the real world, the government and the private sector must solve real-life problems with realistic budgets. And today, both funds and available expertise are at a premium. Consequently, agencies must rely on companies they trust, and corporations only thrive when they invest in solutions likely to flourish in the future.
January 1, 2020
The FBI is increasing its cooperative efforts with U.S. government agencies and overseas allies as it wages an unending battle against growing cyber adversaries with escalating capabilities. Joining four major nation-states on the cyber threat list are terrorists and criminal organizations that constitute a mounting threat to U.S. national security, including the economy. The FBI faces the challenge of keeping up with these enemies, while knowing that they are relentless in their pursuit of cyber supremacy to achieve their goals.
January 1, 2020
To remain relevant, the Army National Guard must completely divest GuardNet, its information technology network, and converge with the Army’s Department of Defense Information Network. This step will prevent the Guard from reverting to a strategic reserve and enable full-time staffing of tactical communication system readiness to completely participate in dynamic force employment as an operational reserve. It also will repurpose the resources allocated to managing this nondeployable network so tactical units can meet the faster deployment time lines needed in the new security environment.
January 1, 2020
The rapid pace of technology adoption has leveled the playing field in global competition and opened new warfare domains in the space and cyber realms. To maintain their competitive advantage, U.S. warfighters must find ways to simplify and streamline technology upgrades and fixes in the field, as well as develop processes to onboard new technology solutions faster. Open architecture and modular systems present compelling solutions to achieve this goal.
January 1, 2020
Cyber insurance can protect organizations from losing more than data, but choosing a cyber insurer and policy comes with its own caveats. The purchase decision maker must consider an individual company’s circumstances, such as revenue, risk tolerance, board guidance and regulatory environment relative to protected categories of information. In addition, every purchase decision must be critically reviewed, particularly regarding the extent of coverage exclusions in each policy.
