Digital Warfare Force Unleased by US Cyber Command

Pentagon in the past 12 months have been attacked by cyber guerrillas, hackers, espionage agents and other network issues including viruses, malware tsunami’s and spam attacks . As such almost $100 million have been spent in the past 6 months alone on repairing the damages caused by these targeted attacks.

According to the latest news reports, Lt. Gen Keith Alexander, head of the US Cyber Command, has outlined the need for Digital Warfare Force for future. The head of America’s National Security Agency gave his views in a report for the House Armed Services sub-committee. Gen Alexander new department ‘Cyber Command’ will based in Fort Meade Maryland. It would be part of the US Strategic Command (Currently Securing US Military Networks) and will work alongside US Department of Homeland Security. It is expected that department would open in October and in full strength by 2010.

US in the past have relied on individual companies to provide them cyber cover against such attacks. This model of outsourcing is not an effective means of defending against this threat, since they could keep pace with the threat.

My View is that the only way to counter both criminal and espinoge activity online is to be proactive. If the US is taking a formal approach to this than that has to be a good thing. If the Chinese are viewed as a source of great many attacks on Western Infrastructure, and just recently, the US National Grid. If that is determined to be an organized attack, I would want to go and take out the source of those attacks. The only problem is that Internet by its very nature has no boundaries and if US takes the mantle of the World Police, that might not go down so well

Peter Wood, Cyber Warfare Expert (Operations Cheif, Workbase Technologies)

There is a report due to be published these days by US Administration for a 60 day review of the Cyber Security ordered by President Barack Obama.

cyber warfare