DOD COMMUNICATIONS CHALLENGES OUTLINED

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Official outlines challenges in securing DOD communications

by Nick Simeone
American Forces Press Service

6/13/2013 - WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- The threat of a cyberattack that would disrupt or deny connectivity is one of many information technology challenges the Defense Department faces, the Pentagon's chief information officer said here June 12.

"There's nothing that we do in DOD from the standpoint of mission security that does not rely on connectivity," Terri Takai told an audience of private-sector leaders and government information technology communities at the FedTalks 2013 conference.

Everyone seems to take connectivity for granted, Takai said, but maintaining it requires security measures, and a cyberattack could circumvent those measures.

"We have to think about how we will operate when that connectivity is disrupted or denied," she said.

It's an enormous challenge. With a budget of $39 billion spread across all four military branches and 40 defense agencies, Takai is charged with providing secure communications for the entire military.

"I support over 3.3 million people," she said. "We're located in 153 countries, and many of those countries are a challenge for being able to get connectivity. And then we're probably in more than 6,000 locations all over the world."

In addition to cyber threats, Takai said, the Defense Department's information technology community also must work through shrinking budgets, challenges posed by nations or groups that DOD partners with, and changing missions.

For example, she said, the Defense Department's shift toward the Asia-Pacific region means fewer U.S assets on the ground and more in the air and at sea. This requires new arrangements for a range of communications, including increased use of satellites, both government and commercial.

"It changes the dynamics of the way we look at how we provide communication capabilities," Takai said, and new partners in the region will have to be included in secure communications networks.

"That's a whole different group of countries to work with," she added, "and for me it's a whole different set of countries to be thinking about, 'How am I going to connect in a very secure way?'"

NBC'S TED KOPPEL INTERVIEWS CHAIRMAN OF JOINT CHIEFS GEN. DEMPSEY

Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, meets with Ted Koppel, special correspondent for NBC's "Rock Center," for an interview at the Pentagon, Jan. 14, 2013. The interview aired Jan. 24. DOD photo by U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Bradley C. Church.

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Dempsey Discusses Cyberattacks, Other Issues in NBC InterviewBy Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 25, 2013 - The worrisome nature of cyberattacks, the threat of global terrorism and the military's need to emphasize character as well as competence were among topics the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff discussed in an interview with correspondent Ted Koppel broadcast last night on NBC's "Rock Center with Brian Williams."

Governments, individuals and organizations are engaged in trying to take advantage of vulnerabilities in the cyber domain, Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey said, citing disruptive "denial-of-service" attacks as an example. Such attacks overwhelm websites, rendering them inaccessible to users.

"What I worry about is that [a cyberattack] could be used to implant a destructive device that could cause significant harm to the industrial base, whether it's critical infrastructure or the financial network," Dempsey said.

There are reports that destructive cyber tools have been used against Iran, the chairman said. "I'm neither confirming nor denying any part in that, but what it should tell you is that capability exists," he added. "And if it exists, whoever's using those [capabilities] can't assume that they're the only smart people in the world."

When Koppel asked Dempsey which part of the world he worries about most, the general noted that the threat of global terrorism complicates matters.

"There's kind of a near-term, long-term aspect to that," he explained. "I think near-term continues to be the threat of global terrorism. We track a global terrorist network that is not uniquely al-Qaida, but is affiliated at some level with al-Qaida."

This requires a network to defeat a network, Dempsey said.

"What it means is you're not going to see these broad, sweeping movements across the desert of eastern Iraq -- 'Hail Mary,' 'right-hand cross,' [or] whatever it was called in 1991," he explained. "You're going to see smaller groups of military formations confronting these distributed enemies across a much wider scope."

Although U.S. combat forces will be out of Afghanistan by the end of 2014, Dempsey said, it would be a mistake to give the American people the sense that al-Qaida is defeated.

"I think that it's fair to say there will be a part of the al-Qaida threat emanating from northwestern Pakistan, and potentially, Afghanistan, for the foreseeable future," he added.

In the final portion of the segment, Koppel asked Dempsey about recent missteps by senior military leaders. The chairman said the value placed on competence over more than 10 years of war might have been a factor.

"Not that we've neglected the character side of this equation," he added, "but we probably are at a point where we ought to re-emphasize it."

And perhaps senior leaders need the view from "those that are at the bottom looking up," Dempsey said.

"I'm actually more interested in, 'What are the lieutenant colonels saying about the colonels? What are the colonels saying about the [brigadier generals]?'" Dempsey said.

But although character is important, he added, the bottom line for the military is to protect the nation.

"Competence will always be the most important thing, and you can't have a man or woman of incredible character who can't deliver on the battlefield," the chairman said. "At the end of the day, that's what we're accountable for. But character counts, and it counts mightily."