Forwarded From: Simon Taplin <sticker@icon.co.za>
Report: DOD needs cyberattack authority
BY BOB BREWIN (antenna@fcw.com)
The Pentagon should consider changes to policies that currently prohibit
the Defense Department from mounting a counter cyberattack if its
computers are attacked, the National Research Council recommended in a
report released today.
In its report on DOD command and control systems and policies, the NRC
said existing laws and policies prohibit DOD from "taking retaliatory
action against a hacker in peacetime" and put "responsibility for
apprehending and prosecuting a hacker in the hands of civilian law
enforcement agencies."
This results in a "passive defense posture," the NRC report said,
"determined to fail against a determined hacker...because adversaries pay
no price for unsuccessful attacks and make reported attempts to breach
systems security until they succeed."
The NRC report, "Realizing the Potential of C4I: Fundamental Challenges,"
sharply criticized DOD systems protection efforts, saying the Pentagon has
fallen behind "in a race to protect computer information systems that are
increasingly critical to military operations."
The report said site visits to troops in the field revealed that they "do
not appear to take protection of computer information systems as seriously
as they do other aspects of defense." The site visits also uncovered
"security practices that were far inferior to the best commercial
practices for information systems protection, or the best security
practices of DOD."
-o-
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Received on Sat Apr 3 10:56:42 1999