[ISN] Air Force chief of staff concerned about cybersecurity 'black hole'

http://www.nextgov.com/cybersecurity/2012/09/air-force-chief-staff-concerned-about-cybersecurity-black-hole/58268/

By Dawn Lim
Nextgov
September 21, 2012

The Air Force's chief of staff expressed concerns that the Pentagon is 
moving on cybersecurity spending without a coordinated plan on how 
defense agencies should deal with threats to sensitive networks, Foreign 
Policy reports.

Gen. Mark Welsh spotlighted the Air Force’s lack of direction on how it 
was expected to operate in the digital realm. He told FP, “I don't know 
of a really stated requirement from the joint world, through U.S. Cyber 
Command in particular, as to what exact kind of expertise they need us 
to train to and to what numbers to support them and the combatant 
commanders.�

While Welsh did not say he opposed computer security spending, he voiced 
reservations about procurement and spending without clear rules of 
engagement, according to the report. "I'm just not sure we know exactly 
what we're doing in it yet, and until we do, I'm concerned that it's a 
black hole," Welsh said. "I'm going to be going a little slow on the 
operational side of cyber until we know what we're doing.� He spoke at 
an Air Force Association-sponsored conference outside Washington.

The federal government hasn’t articulated how it intends to let agencies 
play both offense and defense in cyberspace, even as it begins to 
explore aggressive tactics more openly.

[...]


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