Cheryl Pellerin at the DoD News offers the below report:
WASHINGTON, May 24, 2017 —
The intensifying pace of international conflict and cyber events has
consequences for the U.S. military and for the nation at large, Navy Adm.
Michael S. Rogers (seen in the below photo), commander of U.S. Cyber Command,
told a House panel yesterday.
Rogers, also director of the
National Security Agency, testified before the House Armed Services Emerging
Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee on the fiscal year 2018 Defense
Department budget request for Cybercom and its Cyber Mission Force support for
defense operations.
Facing Advanced Cyber Threats
“Hardly a day has gone by
during my tenure at Cyber Command that we have not seen at least one
significant cybersecurity event occurring somewhere in the world,” said Rogers,
adding, “We face a growing variety of advanced threats from actors who operate
with ever-more sophistication and precision.”
In his written testimony, the
admiral said that cyber-enabled destructive and disruptive attacks now have the
potential to affect the property, rights and daily lives of Americans.
“We are particularly
concerned as adversaries probe and even exploit systems used by government, law
enforcement, military, intelligence and critical infrastructure in the United
States and abroad,” Rogers said.
“We have seen states seeking
to shape the policies and attitudes of democratic peoples,” he added, “and we
are convinced such behavior will continue for as long as autocratic regimes
believe they have more to gain than to lose by challenging their opponents in
cyberspace.”
Lines of Operation
Cybercom tracks state and
nonstate adversaries as they expand their capabilities to advance their
interests in cyberspace and try to undermine U.S. national interests and those
of the nation’s allies, the admiral said.
Conflict in the cyber domain
is unfolding according to its own logic, he added, “which we continue to better
understand. And we're using this understanding to enhance the department's and
the nation's situational awareness and to manage risk in the cyber arena.”
Cybercom forces conduct
full-spectrum military cyberspace operations to enable actions in all domains,
he told the panel.
The command’s three lines of
operation are to provide mission assurance for DoD operations and defend the
DoD information environment, called the DoDIN, to support joint force commander
objectives globally and deter or defeat strategic threats to U.S. interests and
critical infrastructure, Rogers said.
Enhanced Authorities
Rogers requested a budget of
about $647 million for Cybercom for fiscal 2018, a nearly 16 percent increase
from fiscal 2017 to fund Cybercom's elevation from a subcommand of U.S.
Strategic Command to a full unified combatant command, as directed by the 2017
NDAA.
The enhanced budget will be
used, in part, to continue building out the cyber mission force and adding
cyber-specific capabilities and tools, and funding Joint Task Force Ares and
the Cyber Combat Mission Force to support the fight against the Islamic State
of Iraq and Syria.
Rogers created JTF-Ares after
receiving an execute order in 2016 from then-Defense Secretary Ash Carter
authorizing Cybercom to "task organize" for specific missions that
could last to last weeks, months or longer, the admiral said in written
testimony.
He established the new
organization to coordinate cyberspace operations against ISIS, providing unity
of command and effort for Cybercom and coalition forces working to counter ISIS
in cyberspace.
Rogers said the JTF-model has
helped Cybercom direct operations in support of Centcom operations, and “marks
an evolution in the command-and-control structure in response to urgent
operational needs.”
He told the panel that all
cyber mission force teams are scheduled to be fully operational by the end of
fiscal 2018, and named some of the enhancement of command responsibilities and
authorities Cybercom expects in 2018.
These include increasing
cyber manpower, enhancing professionalization of the cyber workforce, building
defensive and offensive capability and capacity, and streamlining what Rogers
called “cyber-operations-peculiar” acquisition capabilities.
“These are critical enablers
for cyber space operations in a dynamically changing global environment,” the
admiral said, “and most or all of these particulars have been directed in
recent National Defense Authorization Acts.”
Operational Successes
Rogers told the panel that
Cybercom’s operational successes have validated concepts for creating cyber
effects on the battlefield and beyond.
“Innovations are constantly
emerging out of operational necessity and real-world experiences,” he said,
“and meeting the requirements of national decision makers and joint force
commanders continues to mature our operational approaches and effectiveness
over time.”
Cybersecurity is a national
security issue requiring a whole-of-nation approach that brings together public
and private sectors of U.S. society, Rogers said, noting that the Cybercom
Point of Partnership program in Silicon Valley, California, and Boston has
proven successful.
The initiative, he told the
panel, “link[s] our command to some of the most innovative minds from industry,
working together on cybersecurity as we face 21st Century threats together in
the private and public sectors.”
This, Rogers added, “combined
with agile policies, decision-making processes, capabilities and
command-and-control structures will ensure that Cyber Command attains its
potential to counter our adversaries.”
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