Panel urges DoD role in domestic network cybersecurity

A congressionally-chartered panel charged with charting long-term defense trends says the Defense Department should have a larger role in protecting domestic networks.

The committee, the "Quadrennial Defense Review Independent Panel," co-chaired by former National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley and former Defense Secretary William Perry, released its final report July 30.

Cyber threats against the United States are increasing, the report states. Since more than 80 percent of DoD logistics are transported by private companies and commercial companies design and build the military's mission critical systems, cybersecurity in the .gov and .com domains are of direct importance, the report adds.

As a result, Defense "should be given clear authority to support the [Homeland Security Department] for cyber security of both the .gov and .com domains so that DHS does not have to replicate the capabilities" resident in Cyber Command and the National Security Agency, the report states.

Top Pentagon officials have recently suggested they are thinking along similar lines; William Lynn, the Defense Department's second highest-ranking civilian, said May 26 that the Pentagon could create a government-sponsored cybersecurity regime for operators of critical private sector infrastructure.

Report authors also say that Defense needs more resources to execute its mission in cyberspace, a domain in which the military is too often forced to pick up the pieces after a cyber attack, the authors add.

"The military is essentially limited to a reactive and forensic posture as opposed to a dynamic and preventive one," they state. The solution is an automatic, self-healing network that acts like an active immune system, the report says.  

The parameters of that self-healing network should be predicated on a set of standing rules of engagement, report authors add, rules that take into account potential large scale effects of a cyber attack and the short time frame in which they can occur.

In addition, the report suggests creating reserve units for cyber missions in areas of the country where such skills are plentiful, such as Silicon Valley. Military cyber professionals also need a joint career path, perhaps modeled on the Special Operations Command model, the report adds.

For more:
- download the final report of the Quadrennial Defense Review Independent Panel (.pdf)    

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