Speaking in the morning plenary session at the DoD Intelligence Information System (DODIIS) Worldwide Conference, both Senator Deb Fischer (NE-R) and Congressman Don Bacon (NE-02 R) emphasized the continue need for the many companies supporting the Department of Defense (DoD) to take heed to the nation state threats banging at the door. Their optic was supported in the comments from General Anthony J. Cotton Commander USSTRATCOM.
Senator Fischer who sits on both the Senate Armed Services Committee and Appropriations Committee spoke to the efforts of Russia and China in targeting the United States. She spoke to the success which China enjoyed with respect to their Volt Typhoon operation which compromised U.S. critical infrastructure. And then pivoted her remarks to the mission of U.S. Strategic Command and how the cybersecurity within USSTRATCOM demands a zero failure environment. She continued how Russia has shown itself to be targeting the international undersea telecommunications cables and the United States energy sector.
Fischer concluded with the assurance that the Senate Appropriations committee was taking cybersecurity seriously and was earmarking funds to support pilot programs to enable companies to create, deliver and enhance their cybersecurity postures. This awareness, should not be construed as basic cybersecurity awareness, rather, as a response to China, with government entities creating awareness briefings and education utilizing declassified information which more accurately highlights the threat from China and other peer-adversaries. She opined such openness would both enrich the support from the citizens of the United States to the Armed Services men and women, it would also enhance the understanding on the need to modernize the Armed Forces of the United States.
General Cotton spoke at the plenary session with detail on his command, which nicely fell into place on the heels of Fischer’s remarks. Cotton noted that the United States is in a pivotal moment in history, mentioning the North Korean deployment of troops to Russia destined for action in Ukraine, to how the U.S. efforts in “maintaining deterrence requires all-hands on deck.” The context of his remarks pointed to the need for the government, private sector, specifically the defense industrial base and academia to work together, as one, to ensure technology kept the United States in the position of having a technological advantage.
Rep. Bacon, speaking from both his past personal experience in the armed forces as well as his congressional tenure, urged the DoDIIS Worldwide attendees, “Don’t be over confident, our opponents are good.” Instead, he continued, “be over zealous and over vigilant.” Bacon shared a number of insider risks which became reality in the form of individuals who had broken trust with the United States, to include John Walker, who provided to Russia the United States naval ciphers for decades. He continued with a vignette, how during the U.S. civil war, a southern sympathizer within General Grant’s command was not sending the desired reports up the chain of command which led to a misunderstanding and false accusations being made, another form of insider risk, realized. The highlighting of the insider threat realized served to emphasize to the attendees the ongoing and never ending targeting of the United States by adversaries.
Speaking to the geopolitical realities of 2024, Bacon provided his optic on how “the world is on fire.” He noted the size of the U.S. nuclear arsenal had been reduced, while Russia and China continues to modernize and increase their own. He acknowledged the DPRK having nuclear capability and Iran as a nuclear want-a-be. Within this context, he implored the attendees to focus their attention on the information and cybersecurity needs of the military, specifically USSTRATCOM whose networks must be survivable, at the beginning, during and after a nuclear fight. The survivability need is followed by the need for “data to be avail at the speed of the decisions” being made.
