Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2009
| Subscribe to Newser's RSS feeds RSS | Follow Newser on Twitter Twitter


3

Gates Launches Cyberwar Military Command

Share

(Newser) – Defense Secretary Robert Gates launched the military's new cyberspace surveillance command yesterday, with a mission to defend military computers and to orchestrate potential cyber attacks on enemy nations, reports the Los Angeles Times. In the short run, the US Cyber Command will be part of the Strategic Command, which oversees the nation's nuclear arsenal, but will likely become an independent unit in the future.

Homeland Security will continue to take the lead in defending government computers, with the new unit focusing on the Defense Department's networks. The operations will help secure "freedom of action in cyberspace," Gates wrote in the memo ordering the unit. America's "increasing dependency on cyberspace, alongside a growing array of cyber threats, adds a new element of risk to our national security," he warned.

The motherboard of all wars?
The motherboard of all wars?   (©Mike Babcock)
A new US military command is responsible for overseeing cyberspace and orchestrating cyber attacks on enemy nations.
A new US military command is responsible for overseeing cyberspace and orchestrating cyber attacks on enemy nations.   (©Harshadewa)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

For a long time, the Pentagon has acknowledged cyber is a war-fighting domain. This will bring the offensive and defensive sides of the house together.
- James Andrew Lewis of the Center for Strategic and International Studies

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
OFF THE GRID
11.24.09
Murdoch and Microsoft: The Mice Are Trying to Roar
11.23.09
Books Are Bad for You
3 comments
VIEWING:
 
Observer
Jun 24, 09 8:48 AM CDT
There had better be a clear demarcation between civilian domestic privacy and the real threats. Big Brother has already shown their appetite for spying on everybody all the time. Who's controlling the leash on this beast? Reply
Vote up! Vote down!
0
IN RESPONSE:
wwwonderer
Jun 24, 09 10:40 AM CDT
They won't
Vote up! Vote down!
0
wwwonderer
Jun 24, 09 10:39 AM CDT
I think they are in for some real problems. It seems there are more people willing to harm the USA from within the USA. Forget about hard drives and laptops 'lost' with terabytes -possibly petabytes or exabytes- of data. Forget our own domestic enemy combatants willing to sell information for the bucks. It seems to me that disrupting Afghanistan's cyber world would have little effect on day to day life for the average Afghani citizen. Now think about the disruption of American cyberworld. The average American citizen will lose their mind, let alone American CORPORATIONS. :-0 Reply
Vote up! Vote down!
0
LEAVE A
COMMENT Comment Policy
Facebook ConnectPost this comment to Facebook?

After connecting you will have the option to post your comment on your Facebook profile.

 

Related Newser Stories

80 Stories

 Feds Point Fingers 
 in Hasan Missteps 

Fort Hood blame game begins

Nov 11, 09 5:43 AM CST
(Newser) - The FBI and the Pentagon are fighting off accusations that someone dropped the ball on Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan. Department of Defense officials say that the FBI never notified them that Hasan had been in contact with extremist imam Anwar al-Aulaqi, while the FBI's defenders say that his... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Pentagon • FBI • US military • counterterrorism • Department of Defense • imam • Fort Hood • Fort Hood shooting • Nidal Malik Hasan • Anwar al-Aulaqi

(Newser) - The Internet has a big problem, argues one of the big names in online security—anonymity. With that weapon, cybercriminals will always have the advantage. And the best solution is to introduce "Internet passports," Russia's Eugene Kaspersky tells ZDNet in an interview. All countries would have to play... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Russia • Internet • Interpol • computer security • cybercrime • computers • Eugene Kaspersky

UPDATED

 Pentagon Downplays 
 13K Surge in Afghan 
 Support Troops 

Extra thousands swell US numbers in Afghanistan

Oct 13, 09 7:53 AM CDT
(Newser) - When does 21,000 equal 34,000? When the Pentagon is counting. The 21,000 additional troops President Obama approved for Afghanistan earlier this year have been accompanied by 13,000 extra support troops, bringing the total number in Afghanistan to nearly 68,000. Pentagon and White House officials have... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Afghanistan • Pentagon • troop surge • Robert Gates • US military • troop levels • Afghanistan war • Stanley McChrystal

80 Stories


World 
TwitterFollow @NewserWorld on Twitter

 
Internet • Robert Gates • cyberwarfare • US military • Department of Defense • computers • military commanders

from our news partners