[ISN] Pentagon computer-network defense command delayed by congressional concerns

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/02/AR2010010201903.html

By Ellen Nakashima
Washington Post Staff Writer
January 3, 2010 

The Pentagon's plan to set up a command to defend its global network of 
computer systems has been slowed by congressional questions about its 
mission and possible privacy concerns, according to officials familiar 
with the plan.

As a result, the Defense Department failed to meet an Oct. 1 target 
launch date and has not held a confirmation hearing for the command's 
first director.

Although officials stress that the cyber command, as it is known, is an 
effort to consolidate existing offensive and defensive capabilities 
under one roof and involves no new authorities or broadening of mission, 
its potential for powerful new offensive capabilities -- some as yet 
unimagined -- have raised questions on Capitol Hill about its role, 
according to national security experts familiar with the concerns.

Key questions include: When do offensive activities in cyberspace become 
acts of war? How far can the Pentagon go to defend its own networks? And 
what kind of relationship will the command have to the National Security 
Agency?

[...]


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