Pentagon plans super cyberforce

THE Obama administration is preparing to elevate the stature of the Pentagon’s Cyber Command.

Officials said the aim was to develop cyberweapons to deter attacks, punish those who intruded on US networks and tackle adversaries such as the Islamic State.

The White House would be presented with a plan that would elevate the US Cyber Command to the status of military branches such as the Central and Pacific Commands.

Cyber Command would be separated from the National Security Agency (NSA), which had been responsible for electronic eavesdropping, the officials said. That would give Cyber Command leaders greater say in the use of offensive and defensive cybertools in future conflicts.

Both organisations are based at Fort Meade, Maryland, about 50km north of Washington, and led by navy Admiral Michael S Rogers.

A former senior intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the move reflected the growing role cyber-operations played in modern warfare.

A Cyber Command spokesman did not want to comment and the NSA did not respond to requests for comment.

Established in 2010, Cyber Command is now subordinate to the US Strategic Command, which oversees military space operations, nuclear weapons and missile defence.

US officials said details of the plan, including aspects of Cyber Command’s new status, were still being debated.

It was unclear when the matter would be presented to President Barack Obama for final approval, but the former senior intelligence official said it was unlikely anyone would stand in the way.

A senior official, who also did not want to be named, said the administration “constantly reviewed organisational structures to counter evolving threats, in cyberspace or elsewhere”.

The Pentagon acknowledged earlier this year it had conducted cyberattacks against the Islamic State, although the details were classified.

The Washington Post reported last month that Pentagon leaders had been frustrated with the slow pace of Cyber Command’s electronic offensive against the Islamic State, militants who control much of Iraq and Syria and have sympathisers and supporters worldwide.

In response, Rogers created Joint Task Force Ares to develop new digital weapons against the Islamic State and co-ordinate with the Central Command, which is responsible for combat operations in the Middle East and South Asia.

James Lewis, a cybersecurity expert at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said the plan to be presented to Obama highlighted how Cyber Command, reliant on the NSA in its early years, was developing its own workforce and digital tools.

Defence Secretary Ash Carter hinted at the higher status for Cyber Command in an April speech in Washington, in which he said the Pentagon was planning $35 billion in cyber spending over the next five years.

The NSA’s primary mission is to intercept and decode adversaries’ phone calls, e-mails and other communications. The agency was criticised for overreach after former NSA contractor Edward Snowden revealed some of its surveillance programmes. – Reuters