Cyber Command’s rotation ‘problem’ exacerbates talent shortage amid growing digital threat

Many former Cyber Command and NSA officials say the military’s rotation system and approach to retirement robs the military of cyber talent.

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Legislators rail against potential rollback of flexible DOD cyber powers

U.S. Cyber Command General Paul Nakasone told senators that scaling back his organization’s cyber ops authorities would be damaging to its mission.

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House’s defense bill looks to protect Pentagon’s tech supply chain

The cybersecurity proposals in the House Armed Services Committee’s draft of the national defense bill for fiscal 2020 include provisions that would create new directives on the Department of Defense’s tech acquisitions and supply chain. Chairman Adam Smith’s mark of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), issued Monday, seeks to prevent the DOD from acquiring foreign telecommunications and video surveillance equipment from companies that could pose security risks to the Pentagon. The provision effectively would ban or suspend contractors and subcontractors from doing business with not just the Pentagon but also the entire U.S. government, too. Chinese-based companies Huawei and ZTE, both of which have been under intense scrutiny by the Trump administration, are not directly named in the provision. The measure appears to align with an executive order the White House issued just last month that seeks to bar U.S. companies from using telecommunications equipment made by foreign firms, with the concern that the gear […]

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NDAA pushes U.S. Cyber Command to be more aggressive

By the Senate Armed Service Committee’s estimation, the United States has held back in cyberspace. The committee is angling to change that with the latest National Defense Authorization Act, proposing to free up the military on the front lines of cyber conflict, create a new strategic cyber entity and respond to Russian aggressions in-kind. The bill’s authors wrote that lawmakers have long-standing concerns about the lack of an effective U.S. strategy to deter and counter cyber threats. To counter foreign state actors bent on stealing, striking, spying or disrupting in cyberspace, the bill suggests boosting resilience, increasing attribution capabilities, emphasizing defense and enhancing the country’s ability to respond to attacks. “We’re letting episodes define strategy. It should be the other way around, where we clearly articulate our cyber deterrence strategy and rules of engagement,” said Frank Cilluffo, director of George Washington University’s Center for Cyber and Homeland Security. By offering […]

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Enemies of U.S. continue cyberattacks without fear of reprisal, NSA director nominee says

Russia and China continue to hack into U.S. companies and government agencies because they aren’t afraid of a potential response, senior U.S. officials say. The Army general expected to be confirmed as the next head of the NSA and U.S. Cyber Command told senators at a congressional hearing on Thursday that he doesn’t believe U.S. adversaries in cyberspace fear any repercussions for conducting hacking campaigns and cyber-espionage. Lt. Gen. Paul Nakasone’s bleak assessment at at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing comes two days after the the same committee grilled the outgoing Adm. Mike Rogers, who Nakasone would replace, for indicating that the U.S. does not have offensive plans in motion to retaliate against cyberattacks. Responding to a line of questioning from Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska., who called the U.S. “the cyber punching bag of the world”, Nakasone said that countries known to target the U.S. in cyberattacks are not deterred […]

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Enemies of U.S. continue cyberattacks without fear of reprisal, NSA director nominee says

Russia and China continue to hack into U.S. companies and government agencies because they aren’t afraid of a potential response, senior U.S. officials say. The Army general expected to be confirmed as the next head of the NSA and U.S. Cyber Command told senators at a congressional hearing on Thursday that he doesn’t believe U.S. adversaries in cyberspace fear any repercussions for conducting hacking campaigns and cyber-espionage. Lt. Gen. Paul Nakasone’s bleak assessment at at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing comes two days after the the same committee grilled the outgoing Adm. Mike Rogers, who Nakasone would replace, for indicating that the U.S. does not have offensive plans in motion to retaliate against cyberattacks. Responding to a line of questioning from Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska., who called the U.S. “the cyber punching bag of the world”, Nakasone said that countries known to target the U.S. in cyberattacks are not deterred […]

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NSA alerted France to ‘Russian activity’ against presidential campaign targets, Rogers says

The U.S. National Security Agency tracked Russian hackers working against French political targets and then alerted French authorities prior to the “massive and coordinated hack” against the campaign of President-elect Emmanuel Macron, the NSA’s chief said Tuesday. Macron won convincingly even though the hack resulted in a massive email dump about a day before French voters headed to the polls, but upcoming crucial elections across Europe have raised alert levels for Western intelligence agencies tasked with fighting Russian interference. Adm. Michael Rogers, who leads both the U.S. Cyber Command and the NSA, testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday. He was asked about the United States’ role in protecting elections inside and outside of U.S. borders. “We had become aware of Russian activity,” Rogers said. “We had talked to our French counterparts prior to the public announcements of the events that were publicly attributed this past weekend. We said, ‘Look we are watching […]

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