U.S. cybercommand will be subordinated to the NSA

Cyberwarfare is already figuring more prominently in military engagements, and its role in combat will only increase. It appears that the turf battles inside the U.S. military over who will be in charge of cyber warfare and the resulting funds have been settled.

Reuters reports that the major decisions on the U.S. military cyber command were announced yesterday at the Pentagon. Defense Secretary Robert Gates signed an order to create the new organization, intended to be based at Fort Meade outside Washington, D.C. and subordinated to the head of the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA). The report quotes Department of Defense (DoD) spokesman Bryan Whitman, responding to questions about “offensive” as opposed to “defensive” cyber warfare by the US forces, as remaining noncommital. “This command is going to focus on the protection and operation of DoD’s networks,” he said. “This command is going to do what is necessary to be able to do that.”

Lewis Page writes that that the Pentagon has stated on many occasions that its networks and those of the U.S. government are constantly subject to cyber attacks, most of which appear to emanate from abroad. China is the foreign country most often mentioned in this context, but Deputy Secretary of Defense William Lynn has recently stated that “more than 100” foreign intelligence organizations have tried to penetrate the US military’s cyber grid on various occasions. “There is simply no exaggerating our military dependence on our information networks: the command and control of our forces, the intelligence and logistics on which they depend, the weapons technologies we develop and field — they all depend on our computer systems and networks,” said Lynn earlier this month. “Indeed, our 21st century military simply cannot function without them.”

John Kruzel in DefenseLink characterizes Lynn’s assessment as amounting to a “clear and present danger” from cyberwarfare. As for the United States taking the cyber offensive, this would seem to be a foregone conclusion. The U.S. military is building a cyber firing range in which to test the effects of cyber weapons.

Page writes that the new command’s subordination to the NSA makes sense — the NSA is already an expert in crypto and other useful subjects. The cyber command is due to kick off in October, and reportedly will be fully up and running a year later.