“It’s very clear we’re being attacked at an alarming rate,” says Ken Slaght, a San Diego defense industry executive and a retired rear admiral.
The attackers banging to get into the military’s computer networks could be individuals, criminals or nation states. At times it’s hard to tell.
Hacker spies have gained access to huge amounts of Pentagon data. CBS News reported large security breaches in 2007 and 2008 on an episode of “60 Minutes” in November.
Analysts weigh the possibility that hackers could disrupt a military network at a crucial time.
Then there is the problem of information assurance — that is, protecting against an enemy hacker deleting data, or swapping out the real thing for phony numbers.
“Scrambling data and information can … provide real military benefit,” says a key report on computer network security, or cybersecurity. “The United States uses blue-force tracking that tells commanders where friendly forces are located; imagine if an opponent could randomly turn some of the blue signals to red or make some of the red-force tracking disappear.”
The Washington, D.C.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies published the report, “Securing Cyberspace for the 44th Presidency,” in December 2008, detailing vulnerabilities in both the military and civilian infrastructure.
“The central problem for our opponents,” the report continues, “is not how to achieve this kind of disruption but to decide which disruptive option to pursue among the wealth of attack opportunities we offer them. The situation and the losses it entails are not tolerable. A serious national security strategy cannot ignore it.”
In the face of the threat, the U.S. military is reorganizing and allocating more resources to cybersecurity. The Pentagon and the Navy are both setting up new cyber commands. The Defense Department is deciding where to allocate new money.
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