Ensuring cyberspace safety, security no easy task; NORAD, USNORTHCOM commander discusses challenges
Jan. 21, 2010
By Stacey Knott,
NORAD and USNORTHCOM Public Affairs
PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. —The commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command spoke to cyberspace industry and government leaders about the safety and security of the cyberspace domain Jan. 14.
U.S. Air Force Gen. Victor Renuart, Jr., told the crowd at the Defending America, CYBERSPACE 2010 Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colo., how important cyberspace has become to conducting operations in the economic, political and military environments.
“Nothing we do to defend our nation can be done without the capability, the quality, the assurance, the agility and the speed that cyberspace can afford us,” the general said, “and yet we have to ensure that it’s always secure and protected so that speed and agility can be taken advantage of.”
Protecting the cyberspace domain from attacks has a variety of unique challenges, according to General Renuart.
“There are legal challenges, not just in the technology of cyber, but in the courtroom as we try to figure out what these [cyber] attacks constitute in terms of legal and illegal activity,” he said. “Are they threats to nations? Are they threats to individual safety? Are they threats to economic tools?”
But these are not the questions that keep the general awake at night. Instead, he is concerned that people will become complacent about security.
“The fact of the matter is that our adversaries, whether they are terrorists or cyber adversaries, are looking for the next seam, the next gap, the next vulnerability and they will take it at a time of their choosing, not necessarily a time of our choosing,” General Renuart said. “But like Mother Nature...if we’re not prepared, if we don’t anticipate, if we don’t assume that it will happen and be prepared to interdict it before it occurs, then we’re going to suffer another catastrophic event. And I fear that in the cyber arena that’s not just a military event; it is a national event.”
When it comes to the cyber arena, General Renuart said he has three primary roles.
First, to support the defense of the global information grid in the homeland, working with a variety of partners in and out of the Department of Defense.
Second, to ensure compatibility with their partners’ networks, and share experiences and expertise with them. He is also looking for collaboration within the cyberspace industry.
Third, to help bridge the gap between those various partners and communities. He said USNORTHCOM is uniquely placed to assist at a national level with cyber capabilities growth and preparation for response to cyber challenges.
“All of you are necessary in this team approach,” General Renuart told the crowd, “to ensure that we don’t get that unplanned attack that takes us to our knees, that it doesn’t bring our economic engine to its knees, and that it doesn’t impede our educational systems.”
For more information on the commands, please visit www.northcom.mil or www.norad.mil.
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