The Air Force has been tracking aggressive cyber incursions by computer technicians in China, primarily focused toward gathering information on military network infrastructure and American trade secrets, the Air Force’s cyber warfare commander said this week.
“China has put a lot of resources into this business,” said Lt. Gen. Robert Elder, commander of Air Force Cyberspace Command. “China, at this point, is not interested so much in attack as they are in using the Internet to pull [industrial] data.”
“They’re interested in doing this in a way that they can be dominant without even having a fight,” he added.
A recently-released Pentagon report on Chinese military development said Beijing is crafting an aggressive computer network operations strategy that the People’s Liberation Army “sees as critical to achieving ‘electromagnetic dominance’ early in a conflict.”
While his newly-established command is focused primarily on the defense of military information networks, communications nodes and command and control systems by “peer competitors” such as China, Russia and Iran, Elder told reporters during a June 13 breakfast meeting in Washington his cyber warriors don’t see much of a threat from terrorist-initiated attacks.
“If you have a terrorist operating on their own they’re going to have less capability than if they had nation-state sponsorship,” Elder explained. “To seriously disrupt us, you’re not going to be able to do this with a ‘teenage hacker’ capability.”
Aside from the defense of Air Force cyberspace from would-be attackers, Elder said his command is focused on developing tactics to render adversaries’ computer systems inoperable, dropping cyber bombs on enemy sensors, databases and battle management systems.
“Everything I talk about we’re trying to do to an adversary we’re trying to defend for ourselves,” Elder said.
“We want to go in and knock them out in the first round,” he added.
The Air Force formally established Cyberspace Command in November after the Pentagon-crafted Quadrennial Defense Review designated cyberspace as an emerging battlefield where American forces increasingly will have to fight in the future.
The vulnerability of networks and the disruption computer hackers can cause to a country’s infrastructure was demonstrated in early May after cyber attacks on a wide range of civilian and government networks in Estonia crippled state-run banks, telecommunications companies and news organizations for weeks.
Estonian government officials allege the attacks were launched from state-owned networks in Russia, though the Kremlin denies they had anything to do with the computer assault. But the accusation raises questions about how Elder’s command should respond to similar attacks against Air Force cyber infrastructure.
The service is working to develop doctrine on how to defend — and counter-attack — cyber adversaries who can potentially shield their identities or seek cover in networks that have no knowledge of the attack.
“We are looking to provide very precise effects — you want to minimize collateral damage,” Elder said. “Would a civilian target be a legitimate target? Generally … you don’t go after civilian targets.”
The Air Force has instituted security procedures to ensure individual workstations can’t serve as gateways for an adversary into military networks, an effort Elder hopes will prompt Airmen to “recognize that this is not a safe neighborhood.”
The Cyberspace Command has already begun to build its cadre of cyber warriors, drawing upon the nearly 45,000 Airmen already tasked with information technology-related duties in the service.
Air Force instructors will keep an eye out during initial training for potential cyber warriors to fill out the ranks, and Elder intends to establish a viable career path for his Airmen in hopes of keeping Cyberspace Command strong in the future.
“We’re trying to get someone trained who can work on a production line who’s an expert on doing their part, and over time you expand that,” Elder said. “It’s going to be really critical for us to be able to retain these people into continuing in the force.”
– Christian
i think the first step in creating a viable career path is to get rid of “Cyberspace Command” from the name of the unit. it isn’t exactly appealing to the youthful comp sci crowd
what about something like Network and Electronic Tactical Warfare Response Command (NETWRC). that’s a military-grade acronym!
I don’t see why the US military doesn’t have It’s own internet and operating system that runs entirely on a new secret language that is incompatable with the current internet and operating systems. And I do not see the need in complaining and being paranoid with all the billions we have do somehting about it. If the threat is there take care of it just don’t let anyone no it’s taken care of.
I don’t see why the US military doesn’t have It’s own internet and operating system that runs entirely on a new secret language that is incompatable with the current internet and operating systems. And I do not see the need in complaining and being paranoid with all the billions we have do somehting about it. If the threat is there take care of it just don’t let anyone no it’s taken care of.
Data point: The Navy has its own internet — NMCI — and it sucks.
I like what I see,period!Thanks for your service.
Um… they kinda do have their own internet(s)… albeit for the classified sides.
If anyone REALLY wants to get into a network, server, or anything, they will. Granted, we are talking about the US government here, but if a group of highly skilled crackers or hackers wanted to get into say, the “FBI Database” or some bullshit like that, they already most likely have. However, I am just some guy who knows very little about computers.
To make it EZ for everyone who’s having trouble… The military is doing a great job at fighting off attacks, because that is what we are TRAINED to do.
I hope that those in the “need to know” areas of our (USA) gov. are taking any and all threats seriously. Regardless if they are from a kid or a gov. sponsored terrorist. The Chinese are not to be fooled with! GOD bless the USA!
General Elder shows an unusually good grasp of Chinese martial doctrine in his comments:
eg. Chinese want to be “dominant without even having to fight”: per Sun Tzu, it is the epitome of skill to subdue an enemy without fighting. eg. There is not much threat from “terrorist initiated attacks”: The “terrorists” are not “non-state actors”, but part of a network, “Kill with a borrowed sword” (have a “terrorist” masquerading as “non-state actor” do your fighting for you); eg. “China is not interested so much in attack as they are in using the Internet to pull industrial data”. Thus, cybersnooping (spying on and controlling enemy’s computers) is preferred to cybersabotage (destroying enemy’s computers), per Sun Tzu’s admonition to take an enemy’s state intact rather than destroying it. As with the Asian martial arts where one’s adversary is controlled and manipulated rather than just knocked down or destroyed, the Chinese use the same tactics on us.
Hello,
I just want to ask about what’s the US military’s doing about that situation?
Thanks
It’s more than just wanting the military to have their “own internet.” The military uses a lot of civilian contractors and the Chinese are looking into their networks for data. Would those businesses be included in the military internet? Even non-military-contracted civilian businesses and industries have info that the enemy is interested in learning. Would they be included, too? Then, we’re back to having everyone on the the same internet. The Chinese (and other nations) are already buying up land in the US and are getting many critical jobs outsourced to them. It scares me that America is getting fatter, watching test score fall, getting more and more into debt, and practicing so much in-fighting. I worry that eventually, our country will be taken without a shot. I hope not. We live in a wonderful country and I’d hate to see that taken away from us.
Years ago I was writig my Master Degree in Iternational Business ( Foreign Investment in the United States ), and through a lot of research I found that foreign investment into the the U.S. was controlled by the various individual States.
Some States would not allow Foreign Investment at all, some would allow it if they could invest an equal amount in that country and others let any country buy what ever they wanted to.
Now they are out-sourcing our work to thier counrty giving away alot of valuable infomation, methods of operation,killing our economy. Twenty years ago China and India to name a few were cosidered “Backward” now look at them. We train the people who come back to haunt us at a later date.
I fully relise that we have many companies in other coutries Mc Donald’s, Startbuck and other non technical companies, but does that equal what we are out-sourcing to them?
I was relly bothered years ago when I was stationed in Germany. I found out that the U.S. had to lease the land the millitary utilized to protect them during the “Cold War“
If you have never seen the movie ” The little mouse that cried” you should. it gives a good in-sight into our Foreign Policy.
I’m not saying that our “Foreign Policy’needs to be adjusted it needs a majorhaul so that the U.S. wins and not loses in our approach to International Trade and Relations.
We no longer have to “BUY INTERNATIONAL FRIENDS” because we no longer need their Statigic Mlitary Locations that WAS required during the “Cold War”.
We have been trying to BUY RESPECT AND FRIENDSHIP”, YOU CAN’T you have to earn it. RE-THINK and OVERHAUL OUR FOREIGN POLICIES.
Ed
Wasn’t that film about Foreign Policy you were referring to called “The Mouse That Roared” with Peter Sellers and the alleged “Dooms Day Bomb“
About a small country that is destitute for money, so they declare war on the US and invade us with a hand full of (soldiers) and immediately surrender. The intent is to lose and then have the US come to their financial aid. But the situation gets out of hand when they produce this unstable Bomb and now nobody knows what to do. Funny movie but probably closer to the truth than we realize.
To think the Chinese hated Capitalism until they are facing starvation. Now it’s a “No holds barred” to get what they need at the expense of the U.S. and the European market. I guess the cartoon with the Premier of China grinning ear to ear proclaiming that won’t have to fight the U.S. “They will own it!” Pretty nauseating if I say so.
To think the Chinese hated Capitalism until they are facing starvation. Now it’s a “No holds barred” to get what they need at the expense of the U.S. and the European market. I guess the cartoon with the Premier of China grinning ear to ear proclaiming that won’t have to fight the U.S. “They will own it!” Pretty nauseating if I say so.