Forwarded From: phreakmoi <hackereliteat_private> http://www.andovernews.com/cgi-bin/news_story.pl?118633 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- Subscribe: mail majordomoat_private with "subscribe isn". Today's ISN Sponsor: Internet Security Institute [www.isi-sec.com]
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