Obama's new war doctrine: 'Cyber dominance'

Obama's new war doctrine: 'Cyber dominance'

rawstory.com

The US military is moving ahead with plans to create its first “cyber command” designed to bolster America’s potential to wage digital warfare as well as defend against mounting cyber threats, officials said on Friday.

After President Barack Obama announced Friday his plans to overhaul cyber security policy, Defense Secretary Robert Gates was expected to soon formally propose the new cyber command that will be overseen by a four-star officer, Pentagon officials told AFP.

The move reflects a shift in military strategy with “cyber dominance” now part of US war doctrine and growin

(visit the link for the full news article)

I am surprised that this is the first time that this type of policy has been considered .

I can't help but wonder just how far behind the U.S is in the area of "cyber dominance " considering just how much effort other countries have invested into this possible means of attack .

Do you think that we are at risk of such an attack by a rival nation ?

Just how deep could such a blow strike ?




rawstory.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

The Pentagon receives 60,000 cyber attacks a day.

We are way behind in cyber warfare. Our interconnected systems are very vulnerable.

If someone hacks into our power supply they could theoretically black out the whole country.

reply to post by Tentickles


Those numbers are very alarming indeed

I am guessing that any such meaningful attack perpetrated against us would likely be explained away , I very much doubt that the public would ever admit that such an attack ever took place , rather it was some kind of " tech error " .

It would me interesting to hear of " the top 10 attacks of all time "

I would like to know how the intended to "protect" our infrastructure from cyber attacks when they can't even protect their own computers. The corporate corruption is coming back to bite our government in the butt.

If anything is going to get us out of our seats to do something it will be restricting the internet.

Here is something very interesting , a report on " The Evolution of Cyber Warfare " . The report is posted on the Council on Foreign Relations website .
www.cfr.org...

I thought that the USAF has been charged with cyber protection for years now. Cyber protection and cyber warfare is something that has been around and if it has been taken seriously should be. I am not sure if we are going as far as to hack other country's computer infrastructure, but I do know that protection is of great concern.

This is the start of internet regulation and the beginning of the end of sites like this.

reply to post by Scopeless


Very good point that you rase about , internet regulation .

Perhaps we just might hear of a cyber attack by some foreign group that leads to a public outcry for greater regulation of the net , stranger things have happened .

Originally posted by Max_TO

Do you think that we are at risk of such an attack by a rival nation ?

Just how deep could such a blow strike ?
rawstory.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

I believe china has been conducting cyber warfare for many years.
www.csmonitor.com...

Even n1igerian 419 scammers have more ways to attack the computers in the US then many countries.

Russia has already attack countries with cyber warfare.
news.bbc.co.uk...
bits.blogs.nytimes.com...
www.defensetech.org...

Iran
www.payvand.com...

Hezbollah
128.100.171.10...

North Korea
www.thetotalcollapse.com...


Its about time we became the leaders in cyber warfare.

If done right we could do it in stealth mode because we are the center of the world wide internet hub and could make our probes look like they are comming from anyplace in the world.

Once we have these other countries systems mapped and neutralized.

If we do it carefully and with stealth they may never know what we are capable if until its too late.

reply to post by ANNED


Great links !!
Thanks for posting those !

Here is a video link to the story www.youtube.com... D8%26um%3D1%26ie%3DUTF%2D8%26hl%3Den%26e&feature=player_embedded

Originally posted by ANNED


I believe china has been conducting cyber warfare for many years.

Even n1igerian 419 scammers have more ways to attack the computers in the US then many countries.

Russia has already attack countries with cyber warfare.
Iran
Hezbollah
North Korea

Its about time we became the leaders in cyber warfare.

If done right we could do it in stealth mode because we are the center of the world wide internet hub and could make our probes look like they are comming from anyplace in the world.

Once we have these other countries systems mapped and neutralized.

If we do it carefully and with stealth they may never know what we are capable if until its too late.

Great post well informed.

No question the US has lost the ball. Complacency thinking armed manpower and expensive toys are how wars will always be fought. The entire continent could be blacked out with no communication by a series of power overloads at generators, satellite downed or linkage blocked, and things we haven't even thought of.

Much of Asia actually may have sustained communication advantages with low tech hard wiring where we are dependent on satellite.

As I've suggested elsewhere, it would be interesting and maybe highly beneficial if the US ran a program of deferred or alleviated prison sentences for high level hackers. These are the guys who have shown they know their stuff and know how to outthink and penetrate a chosen target.

Brain power assets are wherever you can find them.


Mike


[edit on 31-5-2009 by mmiichael]

From Cypher To Cyber

The first rule of Cyber Club is you don't talk about Cyber Club.

It would be unwise to assume the U.S. is behind the curve on Internet surveillance and countermeasures simply because it hasn't received a lot of press. Consider what these guys do for a living:

NSA/CSS Official Site

Wikipedia: National Security Agency

Contrary to popular belief, they do more than just tap domestic phone calls. As the number one customer for cutting-edge computer products in the world, and with a classified budget that is credibly rumored to be astronomical, it is not unreasonable to consider that they spend some of their time on their two primary missions: monitoring international communications and securing U.S. information systems.

Knowledge is power, and must therefore be guarded. Thus the relative lack of public information on the extent of their capabilities suggests our friends at Fort Meade have a pretty good handle on what's happening on the Internet.

However, I also suspect their purview has been more "defensive" (i.e., gathering and securing sensitive information) than "offensive", hence the need for a dedicated organization to fill that role.

Interestingly, although the new command is proposed to be a sub-command of STRATCOM, NSA Director Keith Alexander is being put forward as its first commander. There seems to be some ambiguity regarding the relationship between the new command and NSA in the source article, but for anyone able to decode the bureaucratese in LTG Alexander's recent congressional testimony, a clearer relationship may emerge.

I would expect the new CYBERCOM will function as a primarily military concern that would be a "customer" for NSA "products". Putting the current NSA Director in charge of the new command would be an ideal way to minimize overlap and ensure good interagency cooperation, which is why LTG Alexander is a logical choice for the job.

Plus he would get another star out of the deal.




P.S. Am I the only one who thinks it's a bit "spooky" that NSA has a Kids Page?

Originally posted by Majic
From Cypher To Cyber

The first rule of Cyber Club is you don't talk about Cyber Club.

It would be unwise to assume the U.S. is behind the curve on Internet surveillance and countermeasures simply because it hasn't received a lot of press.

Contrary to popular belief, they do more than just tap domestic phone calls. As the number one customer for cutting-edge computer products in the world, and with a classified budget that is credibly rumored to be astronomical, it is not unreasonable to consider that they spend some of their time on their two primary missions: monitoring international communications and securing U.S. information systems.

Knowledge is power, and must therefore be guarded. Thus the relative lack of public information on the extent of their capabilities suggests our friends at Fort Meade have a pretty good handle on what's happening on the Internet.

However, I also suspect their purview has been more "defensive" (i.e., gathering and securing sensitive information) than "offensive", hence the need for a dedicated organization to fill that role.

I'd like to think you're right. And maybe you are.

I'd expect there would be some grapevine among the communications savvy. This is the generation of online information sharing.

I still have the feeling they are being outdone by at least the Chinese. There were complaints in public abou their vulnerabilities.

If there is a cyber Manhattan Project we might not know about it until the time to unleash it rolls around.

Something to think about.


Mike

Silent Service

Originally posted by mmiichael
I still have the feeling they are being outdone by at least the Chinese. There were complaints in public abou their vulnerabilities.

Don't get me wrong: I'm not suggesting the U.S. should be complacent or that everything is hunky-dory. :shk:

There have been several well-publicized intrusions, and many elements of the national infrastructure are unarguably vulnerable to cyberspace attacks. The Director of the NSA is, after all, telling Congress that more needs to be done, and that "adversaries are taking advantage of this lack of assiduousness and discipline that ultimately costs hundreds of millions of dollars in lost information and work hours".

So there is, according to him, a problem that needs to be solved.

With regard to the reports of various activities originating in China, they are certainly important to consider, but I think it's also a good idea to bear in mind that we only know about them because they became public knowledge.

In other words, they got caught.

It's safe to assume there's plenty that hasn't become public knowledge, but that works both ways. An important maxim in counterintelligence is not letting your opponents know how much you know.

The Chinese are by no means the only players on the field, but they're getting a lot of attention in the western media. Presumably that's because it serves the interests of the other players for attention to be called to them.

Alas, as it must always be, the best stories are the ones we'll never read, because success in that business necessarily means keeping it secret.

Oh well, at least we're free to speculate on what goes on behind the scenes.

What's spooky about Nasa having a kid's page?

Either way, live on in fear of "your enemies", America, wherever you may create them. This is just another thing you must pour billions into for the net result of getting right back to where you started.

[edit] actually I just looked at that page, and it is a bit creepy. My brain has been washed! [/edit]

[edit on 31-5-2009 by The Last Man on Earth]

reply to post by The Last Man on Earth


NSA is very different from NASA.

They need to do something

I'm getting tired of all those darn hackers out there.

Alien Mind