The United States military will not have a cyber intelligence center, as lawmakers have instead directed the focus for the Pentagon to be on a dedicated cyber intelligence capability. That was the result of the compromise in House and Senate Armed Services Committees’ annual policy bill.
The language was changed from the Senate version that had called for a dedicated cyber intelligence “center.” It was introduced in last year’s defense policy bill but was cut during the reconciliation process.
“The exact same provision, word for word, had been reintroduced this year and again passed out of committee and the full chamber,” DefenseScoop reported.
This doesn’t mean that lawmakers are dismissing the importance of cybersecurity within the Department of Defense. The bill will still require the secretary of defense to work with the director of national intelligence to ensure that the Pentagon has the dedicated cyber intelligence capability to support military cyber operations. It essentially requires the DoD to get its cyber ducks in a row and increase its cyber capabilities before forming a center.
“This differs from the original bill in that it orders the DoD to create a cyber intelligence ‘capability’ rather than a ‘Center.’ Members of Congress were concerned that those involved in the effort didn’t yet have enough information and training to create a dedicated organization for cyber intelligence,” explained technology industry analyst Charles King of Pund-IT.
“Instead, the ‘capability’ effort will gather information, strategies, training, etc. from existing intelligence agencies to effectively support military cyber operations requirements for warfighting missions,” King told ClearanceJobs.
A Future Cyber Force?
The wording will likely put to rest, at least for another year, the calls for the formation of a U.S. Cyber Force – one that could allow the U.S. to better defend against cyberattacks. However, critics of such a plan have already suggested the U.S. Cyber Command already fills such a role, while it works with the National Security Agency (NSA).
That is why there may be a renewed emphasis on cyber capabilities within the DoD rather than the push for a dedicated cyber center.
“We believe that as the Department formulates a plan for addressing this provision, it is important to carefully consider what constitutes a ‘cyber intelligence capability,'” the Senate Armed Services Committee explained. “We believe that capability should include existing centers where relevant expertise exists, but should also focus fundamentally on how to build and maintain the new and emerging types of technical knowledge and expertise that is needed by the cyber operations community, but that does not currently exist anywhere in the Department in the scale or depth that is required.”
Whether this is the foundation for a cyber center or more has yet to be seen.
“Without further details, it’s difficult to determine if the new capability will eventually evolve into a standalone organization or remain a specialized group that aids existing DoD intelligence agencies,” King added.
Cyber Capability is What Matters
Even as lawmakers had to reconcile the wording, it does appear that the most important consideration was understood – the U.S. cannot afford to fall behind in cyber.
“The pace of change is dramatic as technology continues to reshape battlefields,” warned Dr. Jim Purtilo, associate professor of computer science at the University of Maryland.
“There is broad consensus that we do everything possible to support our warfighters and help them stay ahead as tech evolves,” Purtilo told ClearanceJobs. “What this legislative language seems to suggest is that there may not be consensus on how we accomplish that. Up to this point, DoD has relied extensively on operations that are spread across agencies, but the bill’s modest restructuring and funding constraints will put DoD squarely in the spotlight.”
Advances in artificial intelligence, the development of quantum computing, and recent cyber attacks also highlight that the cyber domain can’t be ignored.
“Legislators want DoD to up its cyber game and take solitary responsibility for capabilities that will impact warfighters most directly,” added Purtilo.
Establishing the wording was just the first battle.
