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JOINT TASK FORCE TO DIRECT PENTAGON'S CYBER DEFENSE
Jan. 28, 1999 (C4I NEWS, Vol. 6, No. 2 via COMTEX) -- The recent creation
of the Joint Task Force on Computer Network Defense (JTF-CND) reflects the
Pentagon's increasing emphasis on cyber defense and its recognition of the
likelihood of computer attacks by nations, hackers and terrorists.
The task force began operations Dec. 30 and reports directly to Defense
Secretary William Cohen through Army Gen. Hugh Shelton, the chairman of
the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The organization came about after the Eligible
Receiver exercise in June 1997 found DoD computer networks vulnerable
(Defense Daily, Feb. 5, 1998).
Pentagon networks were slow to respond to the attacks because, under the
Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986, unified commands, not combat support
agencies or the Joint Staff, direct warfare operations. The Joint Staff,
which monitored the Eligible Receiver attacks, could not respond.
"In the aftermath of Eligible Receiver, we identified a lot of things that
were deficient in our ability to respond to attacks on all of our
infrastructures, cyber infrastructure included," Air Force Maj. Gen. John
Campbell, the commander of JTF-CND, told sister publication Defense Daily
in a recent interview. "One of the things we took on was the problem of
figuring out who's in charge in DoD, who's responsible for response... We
didn't have a satisfactory command and control arrangement."
"The number one requirement [after Eligible Receiver] was the last thing
we need is another staff organization," Campbell said.
Last summer, the Pentagon announced plans to spend $3.6 billion on
computer security from 1999 through 2002.
In his former job as the deputy director of information operations on the
Joint Staff (J-39), which he began in May 1997, Campbell spent a year
putting together a plan on improving such command and control. Campbell,
an F-15 and F-16 pilot and former wing commander at Aviano Air Base,
Italy, moved from the Joint Staff to his office at the Defense Information
Systems Agency (DISA) on Nov. 1. There he serves as both the vice director
of DISA and as the head of the Joint Task Force.
The task force has 14 personnel now but is to have a full complement of 24
by Jun. 1. The JTF will execute its mission through component commanders
from each of the services: Marine Brig. Gen. Robert Shea, the service's
assistant chief of staff for command and control, communications,
computers and intelligence; Navy Capt. George Allison, commander of the
Naval Computers and Telecommunications Command in Washington, D.C.; Army
Col. Jim Gibbons, the commander of the service's Land Information Warfare
Activity at Ft. Belvoir, Va.; and Air Force Col. Jim Massaro, commander of
the Air Force Information Warfare Center at Kelly AFB, Texas.
Pentagon officials have said that the Joint Task Force is an interim
solution for the analysis of cyber attacks and the coordination of the
resultant defense of DoD networks. A unified command may take on the
mission, according to the Pentagon.
"When we started the discussion of this [JTF-CND] after Eligible Receiver,
there was general agreement that eventually this was probably a mission
area that ought to be under the control of a unified command. Clearly you
need to have warfighting authorities to do this the right way," Campbell
said.
The Joint Task Force's small size and well-defined, limited mission of
defending DoD networks allowed it to begin operations sooner than if the
Pentagon had immediately assigned the mission to a unified command. The
latter "would have taken a long time," Campbell said. Some have
complained that the Pentagon should have taken on a wider, offensive
mission as well, and defense officials continue to debate that point.
The Joint Task Force's budget for FY '99 is $5.2 million. The task force
will be able to perform its functions for the next several years with
approximately the same amount of money, Campbell said.
The JTF is using much of the money for extra command and control
capabilities for the JTF, like the Joint Worldwide Intelligence
Communication System (JWICS), secure "defense red switch" phone system and
for training and contractor support. The JTF's operations center is
co-located with the Global Operations and Security Center (GOSC), which
operates DoD's long-haul communications backbone and detects cyber
attacks, collects data on them from the military services and analyzes the
attacks.
The JTF is on call but is regularly open for business 16 hours a day, five
days a week. GOSC is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. By summer,
the JTF will be operating on the same schedule as the GOSC. The GOSC can
analyze the attacks, while the JTF is able to command a response, possibly
directing the GOSC to block certain Internet Protocol (IP) addresses that
are the sources of the attacks, for example.
Deputy Defense Secretary John Hamre visited the JTF component commanders
in late December to tell them of the importance of the JTF's mission.
The Pentagon is especially concerned about the security of its
unclassified systems which are used for support activities, like
logistics, medical needs and personnel.
"We're relatively confident in the security of our classified network, "
Campbell said.
-o-
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Received on Thu Mar 11 17:16:13 1999