Speaker Takes On Cyber Challenges, Opportunities

The evolution of cyber threats poses ongoing challenges for national defense, but it also brings opportunities for stronger public-private collaborations, a guest speaker at the chapter's May luncheon said. In a speech he characterized as a “Cyber Journey,” Col. Richard Lipsey, USAF, vice commander, 24th Air Force, said cyber threats and enemies exist and operate within the Defense Department networks. Now, we're not just paying attention to what's coming in and to keeping the bad guys out, Col. Lipsey said. We know the bad guys are in our network today, so we also look at what's leaving and how we run heuristics on that, he noted. According to Col. Lipsey, many like to think of the information superhighway as a family road trip—wide open and care-free—but in reality, the road is littered with dangers, better suited for travel in an armored Humvee than a station wagon. And small businesses employing less than 250 people now are the targets of about half of all direct attacks. Mobile devices, tablets, apps and websites, rather than operating systems, are now heavily in the cross hairs. The 24th Air Force approach to defense begins with network architecture, which includes applying different levels of screening at multiple layers and thoroughly mapping cyber dependencies. Externally, it involves recognizing the need for information-sharing partnerships and forums with industry and academia. This is the environment where we have shared risk and shared technology, explained the colonel, emphasizing the need for sharing threat information and solutions in closed and public forums. He emphasized the importance of helping organizations such as AFCEA to grow.

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