Fergie's Tech Blog

U.S. Cyber Command Hits Speed Bump

William Welsh writes on FCW.com:

The Senate Armed Services Committee this month put the brakes on the creation of the U.S. Cyber Command by requesting more information on its relationship with the National Security Agency, reports Bill Gertz at Washington Times.

Army Lt. Gen. Keith Alexander, who is NSA’s director, has been nominated to four-star rank and to lead the Cyber Command. If approved, he would command both the NSA and Cyber Command and be promoted to full general. The Cyber Command’s headquarters would be located at Fort Meade, where NSA is currently headquartered.

In June 2009, Defense Secretary Robert Gates approved the creation of the Cyber Command as a unified, subdivision within the U.S. Strategic Command that would be responsible for protecting 15,000 computer networks across 4,000 military bases in 88 countries.

The committee has raised a number of detailed questions regarding the department’s plans for Cyber Command, including its relationship to the NSA, and has said that it would like all answers provided before considering Alexander’s nomination, U.S. Strategic Command officials said.

posted by Fergie @ 3/25/2010 06:06:00 PM