U.S. Defense Department Sharpens the Cyber Sword
In the cyber domain, the U.S. Defense Department will be more offensive, will inflict more damage and will more aggressively deter other countries from attacking critical systems and networks, according to officials in the Pentagon, at U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency and at the Defense Information Systems Agency, who talked to SIGNAL Media in a series of exclusive interviews.
Each echoed the secretary of defense’s clear and driving priorities to restore deterrence, and that includes the cyber domain.
“We’ve received recently some direct guidance from the administration. The secretary of defense has published his priorities. We are going to re-establish the warrior ethos. We’re going to rebuild our military, and we are going to deter our adversaries based off of the guidance from the secretary of defense,” Army Lt. Gen. Paul Stanton, commander of Joint Forces Headquarters-Department of Defense Information Network (JFHQ-DODIN) and director of the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) told SIGNAL Media during a face-to-face interview. “We have to defend the homeland, and we have to deter very aggressive actors within the cyberspace. We’re fighting today. We’re in contact on a daily basis.”
He noted that “establishing lethality” is one of his top priorities, and that includes being willing to “inflict more damage” on cyber adversaries.
Pivoting to the priorities of the Pentagon, days after she publicly called for the United States to be more aggressive in the cyber domain, Katie Arrington, who is performing the duties of the Defense Department chief information officer, joined SIGNAL Media in another sit-down interview and indicated that cyber offense is the best cyber defense. “I think that this president understands that offensive is always better than being on the defensive,” Arrington said.
She reported having described herself as an “offensive lineman” for her team in the Pentagon. “I had my first town hall a few weeks ago when I first started, and I said, ‘You know, I’m your offensive lineman, team captain in the huddle. You’re my quarterbacks. My job is to clear the pathway for you to be successful. And that’s what offense is. It’s clearing the path to be successful. If you’re on the defense, it means you’re being reactive to something. Offensive is proactive, and I’d much rather be proactive than reactive.”
Delivering cyber capabilities that can counter adversary hacking activities, especially those targeting the nation’s critical infrastructure—and at speed—is a priority driving efforts at U.S. Cyber Command.
Paramount is deployment of what is known as Cyber Command 2.0, which aims to define the maturation of the cyber force and presents recommendations for an array of workforce issues, including talent management, training, force development and capability delivery. The review recommends the creation of a Cyber Innovation Warfare Center based in part on the Constellation program, a partnership between Cyber Command and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency that avoids the so-called Valley of Death for recently delivered cyber technologies by delivering them straight to cyber warriors across the military.
We are going to re-establish the warrior ethos. We’re going to rebuild our military, and we are going to deter our adversaries based off of the guidance from the secretary of defense.
Additionally, an effort afoot is to build a cyber intelligence center. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency partner together to provide relevant cyber intelligence to the rest of the department, said Gen. Timothy Haugh, USAF, former commander of U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency (NSA). Haugh was interviewed by SIGNAL Media prior to his removal from the command, during which, he reported having all the authorities he needed for a more aggressive stance in the cyber domain. Those authorities, presumably, will transfer to his successor as well.
The missions of the DoD CIO, JFHQ-DODIN, DISA and Cyber Command/NSA are deeply intertwined and the leaders reported meeting often and working closely together, as their predecessors did. Arrington is the principal staff assistant and senior advisor to the secretary of defense and deputy secretary of defense for information technology and is responsible for all matters relating to the DoD information enterprise, such as cybersecurity, communications and information systems. Stanton’s JFHQ-DODIN leads the department’s unified force approach to network operations, security and defense across the DODIN. The command’s mission covers a broad range of activities on behalf of U.S. Cyber Command, including proactive, threat-informed steps to reduce cyber risk and leading response to attacks against the DODIN. DISA, meanwhile, provides a wide array of communications, command and control and information technology systems and support across the department.
Nuray Taylor contributed to this report.
