(This is a very good thing, IMHO.....--rf) GATES DIRECTS REALIGNMENT OF MILITARY CYBERWARFARE SHOPS Inside the Pentagon December 4, 2008 http://www.insidedefense.com/secure/display.asp?docnum=11252008_nov25d&f=
Defense Secretary Robert Gates has placed operational control over the entire range of military cyberspace activities in the hands of the Pentagon’s premiere offensive cyberwarfare unit, according to a Nov. 12 memo obtained by InsideDefense.com. The move, effective immediately, puts the Ft. Meade, MD-based Joint Functional Component Command-Network Warfare in charge of the Joint Task Force-Global Network Operations. The Arlington, VA-based JTF-GNO is tasked with defending the military’s networks. Both organizations are part of U.S. Strategic Command. National Security Agency Director Army Lt. Gen. Keith Alexander is also the JFCC-NW commander. Similarly, the JTF-GNO chief serves as the director of the Defense Information Systems Agency. That job will be filled soon by Army Maj. Gen. Carroll Pollett, who previously served as STRATCOM chief of staff. Senators confirmed his nomination for the job, which comes with a promotion to lieutenant general, on Oct. 2. “There is a pressing need to ensure a single command structure is empowered to plan, execute, and integrate the full range of military cyberspace missions,” Gates says in the memo, sent to senior defense leaders. The DISA director will “remain responsible for providing the JTF-GNO network and information assurance technical assistance as required,” the memo states. All DISA components and the JTF-GNO unit are slated for relocation to Ft. Meade beginning in October 2010 as a result of the 2005 round of base closures and realignments. Daniel Kuehl, a cyberwarfare scholar and professor at the National Defense University, called Gates’ move a “logical” step in the Pentagon’s efforts to prepare for future conflicts in cyberspace. He said the move signals a realization that offensive and defensive measures in cyberwarfare should be addressed as a whole. “You can’t hermetically separate the two,” he told InsideDefense.com. “I think what we’re seeing is a normalization of cyberspace as a warfighting domain,” Kuehl added. -- Sebastian Sprenger _______________________________________________ Infowarrior mailing list [email protected] https://attrition.org/mailman/listinfo/infowarrior
