Page 5 - FCW, June/July 2021

Trending
426 small businesses were awarded spots on GSA’s
Given the increased frequency and intensity of cyberattacks, the idea of having a separate military branch focused on the virtual battlespace has cropped up. But is it a good idea?
During a June 11 hearing of the House Armed Services Committee’s Intelligence and Special Operations Subcommittee, Rep. Austin Scott (R-Ga.) said he supported creating a cyber force “if that helps us better carry out the mission.”
However, Gen. Paul Nakasone, director of the National Security Agen- cy and commander of U.S. Cyber Com- mand, told lawmakers that he has con- cerns about the feasibility of creating a new cyber entity that emulates the U.S. Space Force.
He is focused on developing Cyber Command’s 133 teams, and “my con- cern with moving toward a cyber force right now is the infrastructure, the other elements that take away from what we want,” he said. “We want the best cyber operators working [their] mission every single day. The most important thing we can do is to con- tinue to have...positive outcomes.”
That includes dedicating cyber oper- ators to specific missions, such as the Russia Small Group, a task force cre-
ated by NSA and Cyber Command in 2018 to thwart Russian meddling in U.S. elections.
“We took the same approach in 2020,” Nakasone said, because ensur- ing that adversaries operating outside
During the hearing, Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.) raised the possibility of using Title 10 to involve the military in addressing cyberthreats that are cat- egorized as criminal. He said cyberat- tacks by foreign nation-state actors,
Gen. Paul Nakasone
the United States cannot influence elec- tions is a priority for NSA and Cyber Command.
His comments come at a time when lawmakers are increasingly looking for legislative and policy approaches to curbing cyberattacks and improv- ing agencies’ and contractors’ cyber resilience. That heightened focus on solutions is also reflected in Presi- dent Joe Biden’s Executive Order on Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity, issued in May. Among other things, it mandates basic cybersecurity prac- tices across the federal government, including multifactor authentication and encryption.
issue’ and we couldn’t apply Title 10 and military assets to that,” Waltz said. “After 9/11, obviously, we changed our view.”
Nakasone concurred, saying, “I do see a role for Title 10 in the space.” However, he added that policies to enhance cyber deterrence would need to clearly “address adversaries, whether or not it’s criminal behavior or whether it’s nation-state behavior” and that infrastructure resilience also needs to improve.
“This is about our critical infrastruc- ture in terms of what’s most vulnerable right now,” Nakasone said.
— Lauren C. Williams
“We want the best cyber operators working [their] mission every single day.”
including those seeking financial gain through ransomware attacks, can rise to the level of a mili- tary threat.
“It reminds me of the terrorism problem in the [1990s] when it was viewed as a ‘criminal
8(a) STARS III contract
Does the U.S. need a cyber force?
FCW CALENDAR
8/4 Cybersecurity
Federal Chief Information
Security Officer Chris DeRusha, Department of Health and Human Services CISO Kamran Khaliq and Labor Department CISO Paul Blahusch are presenters at FCW’s Cybersecurity Workshop.
Online
FCW.com/Cybersecurity
8/11 Digital Transformation
Customs and Border Protection’s Sonny Bhagowalia, the
Office of Personnel Management’s Curtis Mejeur, the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Daniel McCune and the General Services Administration’s Josh Di Frances are among the speakers at this event.
Online
FCW.com/DigitalTransformation
8/18 FedRAMP
The panels and presentations
at FCW’s 2021 FedRAMP Summit will feature a wide range of government and industry experts, including FedRAMP Director Brian Conrad, Department of Homeland Security CISO Kenneth Bible and Energy Department CISO Gregory Sisson.
Online
FCW.com/ FedRAMPsummit
June/July 2021 FCW.COM 3