U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY PANETTA ADRESSES STEPS TO END THE AL-QAEDA THREAT

Photo Credit:  U.S. Department Of Defense.

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Panetta Details Steps Needed to End Al-Qaeda Threat
By Cheryl Pellerin
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20, 2012 - For the United States and its allies, ending the al-Qaida threat calls for a modified military footprint, close work with partners, and continued U.S. involvement in regions of the world where violent extremism has flourished, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said tonight.

Addressing a large audience here at the Center for a New American Security, the secretary discussed significant national security challenges and opportunities ahead.

He also outlined priorities that characterize the approaching end of the longest period of sustained armed conflict in the nation's history.

The priorities, Panetta said, are fighting the war against al-Qaida and its affiliates, ending the war in Afghanistan, implementing the new defense strategy, meeting fiscal responsibilities, countering nuclear proliferation, improving cybersecurity, achieving greater energy security, implementing the Asia-Pacific rebalance, and taking care of service members, veterans and military families.

"But tonight I wanted to focus on the goal that still remains at the top of the priority list, as it must. That goal that the president made very clear -- that we have a responsibility to disrupt, degrade, dismantle and ultimately defeat those who attacked America on 9/11 -- al-Qaida," the secretary said.

" ... To protect Americans at home and overseas," he added, "we need to continue to pursue al-Qaida wherever they go, whatever form they take, wherever they seek to hide. We must be constantly vigilant, we must be constantly determined to pursue this enemy."

What will it take, he asked, to achieve the end of al-Qaida?

The essential first step is to finish the job that the United States and its coalition partners began in Afghanistan, he said, "and we are on track to do that."

As the United States and its NATO partners agreed at the 2010 summit in Lisbon, Panetta said, Afghans must be responsible for their own security by the end of 2014.

This transition will require continued commitment by the international community and the United States to help Afghan forces achieve this goal, he added.

"We have come too far. We have invested too much blood and treasure not to finish the job," the secretary said. "There are no shortcuts, nor can we afford to turn away from this effort when we are so close to achieving success and preventing al-Qaida from ever returning to this historic epicenter for violent extremism."

In Afghanistan and Pakistan, prolonged military and intelligence operations have significantly weakened al-Qaida, Panetta said.

The terrorist group's most effective leaders are gone, its command and control has been degraded and its safe haven is shrinking, he added, but al-Qaida remains.

"We have slowed the primary cancer but we know that the cancer has also metastasized to other parts of the global body," the secretary said. Two examples of that spreading al-Qaida presence are Yemen and Somalia.

In Yemen, for example, the capabilities of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, are growing. This group has targeted the United States for attack and sowed violence and chaos in Yemen itself, Panetta said.

"We have struck back in an effort to disrupt and dismantle this group through a very close partnership with the government of Yemen ... and the Yemenese themselves," he added.

In Somalia, against the militant group al-Shaabab, progress also has been made, the secretary said, "in large part because of an effective partnership between the United States and the African Union Mission in Somalia."

But the challenge is far from over, Panetta said.

"President [Barack] Obama has made clear, we will fight not just through military means but by harnessing every element of American power -- military, intelligence, diplomatic, law enforcement, financial, economic and above all the power of our values as Americans," the secretary said.

The second step in achieving the end of al-Qaida, Panetta said, involves maintaining pressure on al-Qaida in Pakistan, on AQAP in Yemen, and on al-Qaida-associated forces in Somalia.

That means degrading the terrorists' senior leadership, dismantling their organizational capabilities, remaining vigilant to ensure the threat does not reconstitute, and working to build the capacity of U.S. partners, including Pakistan, to confront these shared threats, he added.

"Despite challenges in the bilateral relationship between the United States and Pakistan," the secretary said, "one area in which our national interests continue to align is defeating the terrorists on Pakistan soil that threaten both of us. We remain committed to pursuing defense cooperation based on these shared interests."

A third step is to prevent the emergence of new safe havens for al-Qaida elsewhere in the world that the group could use to attack the United States or its interests, he said.

"The last decade of war has shown that coordinated efforts to share intelligence, to conduct operations with partners, are critical to making sure that al-Qaida has no place to hide," Panetta told the audience.

"We will expand these efforts, including through support and partnership with governments in transition in the Middle East and North Africa," he added.

"This campaign against al-Qaida will largely take place outside declared combat zones, using a small-footprint approach that includes precision operations, partnered activities with foreign special operations forces, and capacity building so that partner countries can be more effective in combating terrorism on their own," the secretary said.

DOD will work whenever possible with local partners, he added, supporting them with intelligence and resources they need to deter common threats.

In Mali for example, Panetta said, "we are working with our partners in Western Africa who are committed to countering the emerging threat to regional stability posed by AQIM."

A fourth step needed to bring an end to al-Qaida involves investing in the future, he added, in new military and intelligence capabilities and security partnerships.

"Our new defense strategy makes clear -- the military must retain and even build new counterterrorism capabilities for the future," Panetta said.

As the size of the military shrinks, for example, special operations will continue to ramp up, growing from 37,000 members on 9/11 to 64,000 today and 72,000 by 2017, the secretary noted.

"We are expanding our fleet of Predator and Reaper [unmanned aerial vehicles] over what we have today. These enhanced capabilities will enable us to be more flexible and agile against a threat that has grown more diffuse," Panetta said.

"We are also continuing to invest in building partner capacity, including through Section 1206 authority to train and equip foreign military forces. Our new Global Security Contingency Fund has been very helpful in placing new emphasis on cultivating regional expertise in the ranks," the secretary added.

A final point that too often takes a backseat to operations against al-Qaida, Panetta said, is how to prevent extremist ideologies from attracting new recruits.

"Over the past decade we have successfully directed our military and intelligence capabilities at fighting terrorism," he added. "And yet we are still struggling to develop an effective approach to address the factors that attract young men and women to extreme ideologies, and to ensure that governments and societies have the capacity and the will to counter and reject violent extremism."

To truly end the threat from al-Qaida, the secretary said, "military force aimed at killing our enemy alone will never be enough. The United States must stay involved and invested through diplomacy, through development, through education, through trade in those regions of the world where violent extremism has flourished."

This means continued engagement in Pakistan, he added, and following through on U.S. commitments to Afghanistan's long-term stability.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has outlined a comprehensive strategy for North and West Africa that combines security assistance and economic development, strengthens democratic institutions and advances political reforms, Panetta said.

" ... We will be vigilant and we will posture our military and intelligence forces to prevent and if necessary respond to threats of violence against our interests throughout the Middle East and North Africa, including threats against our embassies and consulates, and our diplomats themselves," the secretary said.

"But to truly protect America, we must sustain and in some areas deepen our engagement in the world –- our military, intelligence, diplomatic and development efforts are key to doing that," he added.

Pursuing an isolationist path, the secretary said, "would make all of us less safe in the long-term."

"This is not a time for retrenchment. This is not a time for isolation. It is a time for renewed engagement and partnership in the world," Panetta said.

GOVERNMENT, INDUSTRY, ALLIES NEED TO WORK TOGETHER FOR CYBERSECURITY

GEN Keith B. Alexander United States Army

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Cybersecurity Involves Federal, Industry Partners, Allies
By Cheryl Pellerin
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Nov. 8, 2012 - The $110 billion-a-year cyber economy has never been more vulnerable to crime and other threats, and securing the Internet against attacks demands the expertise of government agencies, industry and allies, the commander of U.S. Cyber Command said here yesterday.

Army Gen. Keith B. Alexander, Cybercom chief and director of the National Security Agency, spoke before a large audience at the Symantec 2012 Government Symposium.

The symposium examines a fundamental question: How to protect sensitive information while enabling collaboration across jurisdictions, nations, citizens and the private sector?

"Government ... operations depend on the network. If we lose that network we can't communicate, [and] ... what happens when [adversaries] disrupt our network or the power grid or our banking institutions?" Alexander said, adding that the U.S. must work with its partners in industry and its allies to solve the problem.

"Many will ask about the roles of [the National Security Agency and Cybercom] in this, and how can we ensure civil liberties and privacy [as well as] the security of cyberspace? We can do both," he said.

One of the first things industry and government must decide is how to make sure all companies involved in U.S. critical infrastructure -- including financial and information services and the defense industrial base -- institute the highest possible levels of computer security.

"How many companies in the United States and among our allies are at this level?" Alexander asked.

"We actually do inspections," he added. "We inspect our government networks to see how many are at 100 percent. And the answer is, very few."

Companies in some sectors, like banking and the high end of the defense industrial base, are "right there at the top" of computer security, the general said.

"Then you go out to some companies that are being [attacked by adversaries in cyberspace] and they don't know what the threat looks like nor what they should do, and some of them are in critical infrastructure," he added.

Nobody wants to make such an effort hard, costly or bureaucratic, Alexander said.

"The question is how do we help them?" he said. "What's the right forum for government and industry to work together to help those companies get to the right level of security?"

Another imperative for government-industry collaboration involves gaps in computer security exploited by what are called "zero-day" attacks -- those that exploit vulnerabilities in computer applications.

Eventually, patches are created to plug the security holes, but not before adversaries have entered and damaged the network or stolen intellectual property.

Alexander used an analogy to explain how Cybercom or the NSA could help industry identify what the general called "bad packets," or those that carry destructive payloads out on the Internet.

"Internet service providers see packets out there. We want them to be able to see bad packets and do something about them. We'll have [an examination process] for every packet. And we'll say, 'Did you see a bad packet in the network? Tell us where it's coming from and going to, and stop it because [it's carrying] a destructive payload,'" the general explained.

"When they see that bad packet, we don't need to know what was in the communications," he added. "All we need to know is a dangerous packet went from point A to point B right now, and that we may need to act."

The federal government "is not looking at the traffic," Alexander said.

"Industry is looking at the traffic and they have to do that to own and operate these networks. We're going to help them with signatures and other things, and they need to tell us when they need our help. But it's got to be done in time for us to help, and that's part of the key issue."

At Cybercom, the general said, experts are training the cyber workforce of the future, determining roles and responsibilities of the federal agencies involved in cybersecurity and exploring a defensible architecture for the Defense Department.

"The DOD architecture, in my opinion, is not defensible per se. We're doing our best to defend it, but we've made this really hard," Alexander said. The department has 15,000 enclaves, each run by separate system administrators and each with its own firewalls, he added.

"What that means is we need to come up with a defensible architecture," the general said, adding that "a ... virtual cloud is key to our success for a couple of areas for the Defense Department," including for a growing number of mobile users.

Cybercom and other agencies are also working on issues related to their authority to respond to a problem, Alexander said.

The key question, he added, is what can the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, Cybercom and the NSA do to defend the country against a cyberattack, and when can they do it?

Alexander said that he, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano, and FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III "have laid out lanes in the road for the government entities."

The FBI is responsible for investigation, attribution and domestic problems. DHS is responsible, along with partners like NSA, the National Institute for Standards and Technology and the SANS Institute, for cybersecurity standards.

NSA and Cybercom have a couple of roles and responsibilities, Alexander said, including foreign intelligence.

"NSA has the best folks in the world," the general said. "They have special skills and we want to leverage those skills to help secure cyberspace for our country and for our allies."

Cybercom's role "is not only to operate and defend DOD networks but to defend the country," he said, noting Cybercom would step in if America came under cyberattack.

In the meantime, the general said, he's concerned that attacks like the destructive August attack on computers at Saudi Arabia's government-owned oil company Aramco are happening and "we're spending a lot of time talking about what we should do and when we should do it."

While there is still time, he said, "while you're all in the room together with us ... we ought to argue it out just like we did in the election [on Tuesday], come to a solution and then get going."

THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE COMMITMENT TO CYBERSECUTITY

The U.S. Cyberbrigade On Parade.  Credit:   U.S. DOD

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Official Reaffirms DOD Commitment to Cybersecurity

By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Sept. 25, 2012 – The Defense Department remains vigilant and committed to cybersecurity, especially since its cyber operations present a target for hackers, a senior Pentagon official said here today.

Speaking at the Telework Exchange’s fall town meeting, David L. DeVries, the Defense Department’s deputy chief information officer for joint information enterprise, said the department is an attractive target for potential cyber attacks, due in part to its size.

"DOD is a large magnet for the security vulnerability side of the house," he said. "Just like they would like to hack into Wall Street or a financial institution, they would also like to hack into the Department of Defense and other federal agencies here."

Defense Department officials take cybersecurity very seriously, DeVries said, and that creates pressure on the department’s information technology personnel to stay vigilant.

"It gets exponentially more complex to ensure the security of the whole thing," he said. "And that’s why I have to keep security at the [forefront]."

DeVries said when he turns on his personal computer at home, it automatically seeks updates from Microsoft and implements those changes. "So Microsoft is keeping track of my computer for me," he said. "And it’s saying, ‘Hey, I found something and I updated this thing. You need to do this now, Mr. DeVries.’ So I … say, ‘OK, do it.’"

As the Defense Department moves away from laptops and personal computers and toward smart technology, DeVries said, officials face a difficult challenge. "There are more vendors with these [smartphones] that we’re trying to get connected into the network than we can possibly keep track of," he said.

To police this issue, he added, rules and policies have been published.

"We’re now starting to enforce it," he said. "I’m looking at it from an end-device capability: Are you complying with the measures I’ve put forth?"

DeVries said he was shocked when he learned, during an earlier panel, of a general lack of security for personal information when people use smartphones.

"What’s amazing is, I thought everything I bought was checked out," he said, waving his smartphone. "So I thought all those [applications] were checked by somebody."

A panelist in the earlier discussion said he had a report that said 80 percent of the apps on his smartphone are not compliant with security requirements, DeVries said.

"[This is] my personal stuff I’m worried about there, and now I’ve put it into my workspace. … That’s a scary thought," he added.

Some companies work with the business world to make sure that their apps and operating systems are secure, DeVries said.

"Other vendors are more worried about, ‘I just want to be open to everybody out there from the teenager all the way up to the grandfather,’" he added.

DeVries said the Defense Department already has taken certain precautions.

"So we published our mobile strategy, and again, with a corporation the size of DOD, we’re going a little bit slow," he said.

"I can’t keep up with how fast this stuff gets on the street," he continued. "But I do know I have to protect the data that resides inside DOD -- No. 1, because people’s lives are at stake, and 2, the defense of the nation is at stake. So I take this seriously."