[Infowarrior] - NSA Chief to Head New Cyber Command

[Richard Forno]

Gates to Nominate NSA Chief to Head New Cyber Command
By SIOBHAN GORMAN

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124060266381953839.html

WASHINGTON -- Defense Secretary Robert Gates plans to nominate the  
director of the National Security Agency to head a new Pentagon Cyber  
Command, which will coordinate computer-network defense and direct  
U.S. cyber-attack operations, according to a draft memo by Mr. Gates.

The move comes amid rising concern in the government about attacks on  
U.S. networks. The command will run military cybersecurity operations  
and provide support to civil authorities, according to the memo  
reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

NSA Director Keith Alexander, a three-star general, is expected to  
earn a fourth star when he moves to his new job at the Cyber Command.  
The memo doesn't state that directly, but says that his deputy at the  
new command will be of a three-star rank. It isn't clear who will  
succeed him at the NSA.

The Department of Homeland Security is charged with securing the  
government's nonmilitary networks, and cybersecurity experts said the  
Obama administration will have to better define the extent of this  
military support to Homeland Security. "It's a fine line" between  
providing needed technical expertise to support federal agencies  
improving their own security and deeper, more invasive programs, said  
Amit Yoran, a former senior cybersecurity official at the Homeland  
Security Department.

The new command is necessary, the memo says, because "our increasing  
dependency on cyberspace, alongside a growing array of cyber threats  
and vulnerabilities, adds a new element of risk to our national  
security." At least initially, it will be part of U.S. Strategic  
Command, which is currently responsible for securing the military's  
networks and waging attacks on the Internet.

An announcement of the new command is expected after the Obama  
administration finishes its recommendations for cybersecurity policy,  
which could come as soon as next week.

Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said Mr. Gates is "planning to make  
changes to our command structure to better reflect the increasing  
threat posed by cyber warfare," but "we have nothing to announce at  
this time." The NSA referred calls to the Pentagon.

Mr. Morrell said cybersecurity is a major priority for Mr. Gates and  
his 2010 budget proposal calls for hiring hundreds more cybersecurity  
experts.

Gen. Alexander sought to quell concerns about NSA's role in domestic  
cybersecurity in a speech Tuesday at a computer-security conference in  
San Francisco.

"We need to dispel the rumors," he said, adding that NSA didn't want  
to run all the government's cybersecurity operations but would help  
Homeland Security secure government civilian networks. NSA has  
"tremendous technical capabilities," he said. "What we need to do now  
is learn how to use that."

Gen. Alexander also catalogued a few of the "things that are broken"  
in the government's efforts to protect its networks. The government  
can't monitor intrusions on its networks in a timely manner. It  
detects compromises of private-sector networks but sometimes can't  
disclose the problem because its information is classified.

The new command will be located in Maryland at Fort Meade, which is  
home to the NSA's headquarters just outside of Washington. It will  
open by October, according to the memo, and will be at full strength  
the following year.

Write to Siobhan Gorman at siobhan.gorman at wsj.com

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