Last year, as the April 15 tax deadline approached, I realized that I did not have my W-2 statement from the Navy Reserve. I knew it was no problem because all of that information was “easily” available at MY-PAY online. That was simple—“simple” being a very relative term—when I had a Common Access Card (CAC) and reader. However, as a retired 0-6 without a CAC, there was no “simple” button available to make this process work.

NATO is reinforcing cybersecurity for its entire communications and information systems architecture and on all of its networks, including unclassified, restricted and secret networks. The project will be implemented in several phases and is speeding toward completion by the end of 2012, a challenging deadline that NATO officials say they are determined to meet.

NATO is reinforcing cybersecurity for its entire communications and information systems architecture and on all of its networks, including unclassified, restricted and secret networks. The project will be implemented in several phases and is speeding toward completion by the end of 2012, a challenging deadline that NATO officials say they are determined to meet.

Necessity may be the mother of invention, but in Afghanistan’s eastern region, the need to connect dismounted soldiers to the network has prompted a mother lode of innovation. The forbidding area is unlike any other part of Afghanistan, according to U.S. Army officials. With mountains more than 20,000 feet high, much of the tough terrain is not traversable with ground vehicles, making dismounted operations a must in the area. Connecting those dismounted troops to the network is a critical necessity, which is why Army officials are experimenting with a host of prototypes designed to put dismounted soldiers on the digital map. Those systems include the Distributed Tactical Communications System, the Broadband Global Area Network satellite terminal and the Panther satellite communications system.

Troops soon will have access to an upgrade that allows them to counter one of their most complex foes—Mother Nature. A project at the U.S. Air Force Electronic Systems Center incorporates weather information with flight maps so crews can more quickly understand what the environment plans to throw their way and when.

The revelation that an unnamed defense contractor suffered a large-scale data breach emphasized the urgency and importance of a Defense Department strategy for operating in cyberspace.

The revelation that an unnamed defense contractor suffered a large-scale data breach emphasized the urgency and importance of a Defense Department strategy for operating in cyberspace.

The U.S. Navy may be setting itself up for strategic mismatches of historic proportions in the near future. While its perception of victory may be tainted by the vision of several aircraft carriers of the Imperial Japanese Fleet listing heavily, on fire and dead in the water during the Battle of Midway, today’s mismatch could likely center on the expectation of data flow in the face of an adversary’s ability to deny it.

First-ever systems integration testing approach proves painful but beneficial.

The recent attack by Lulz Security on the CIA's networks and other breaches of major organizations have brought hacking and hacktivism to the public's attention, but these violations are only a small part of the larger landscape. Different assaults damaged networks worldwide earlier this year, and experts predict that what could happen in the future is even more frightening.