Fergie's Tech Blog

Serious Challenges Await Head of Cyber Command

Brian Prince writes on Security Watch:

The U.S. Senate confirmed Lt. Gen. Keith Alexander May 7 as head of the U.S. Cyber Command. He will have his work cutout for him.

"There is a glass," James Miller, principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for policy, told the Defense Department's American Forces Press Service today. "It has some water in it. The water is dirty, and we have an insatiable thirst in this area."

In an assessment of the country's cyber security posture, Miller said the government faces "immense" challenges as it develops a strategy flexible enough to address the diversity of cyber threats.

"We don't really understand the nature of the threat that we face," he noted. "Over the past decade, we have seen the frequency and sophistication of intrusions into our networks increased. Our networks are scanned thousands of times an hour."

The Defense Department alone has about 15,000 networks, with millions of users in 88 countries.

posted by Fergie @ 5/12/2010 04:28:00 PM