December 9, 2022 | International, Aerospace
Defense bill underlines need for tactically responsive space program
The language continues a three-year push from lawmakers for the service to prioritize the capability.
July 23, 2018 | International, C4ISR
The Army wants to build a better signals intelligence force
By: Mark Pomerleau
The Army's top intelligence official signed the service's new signals intelligence strategy July 16, a move that defense leaders believe leaves the Army better situated to better fight despite electronic warfare and cyber attacks.
The new strategy ensures "our readiness to provide timely and relevant SIGINT-support [and meet] the commander's information needs in a large scale combat operation against a sophisticated adversary,” Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier, said July 18 during an event on Capitol Hill hosted by the Association of Old Crows.
Officials say the integration of SIGINT, electronic warfare and cyber is critical from a material, organization and doctrinal perspective.
“Not only will our four lines of effort improve our SIGINT corps' capabilities and relevance in the face of rapid changes in the global security environment, it will also enable our electronic warfare and cyberspace effort to meet new challenges,” Berrier said.
The four initiatives in the new strategy include:
- Organizing and building the Army SIGINT force,
- Educating the force,
- Equipping the force, and
- Developing doctrine.
The new strategy increases the Army's ability to collect intelligence against peer adversaries, such as China and Russia, and provides a firm foundation for successful electronic warfare and cyber operations, Berrier said.
A key component of the convergence includes the new Terrestrial Layer System (TLS), a SIGINT/EW system projected to be fielded on vehicles and used by new military intelligence-electronic warfare (MI-EW) companies the Army is working to stand up.
The Army wants SIGINT, electronic warfare and cyber systems on the same platforms in the air and ground domain, Maj. Gen. Robert Walters, commander of the Intelligence Center of Excellence, said at the event. These systems, Berrier said, should be able to not only sense the environment but employ some type of action such as electronic attack or cyber capability.
Why converge?
Officials have stressed repeatedly in the last year the need for colleagues in similar disciplines throughout the Army to stay in touch and reap the mutually beneficial equities on behalf of commanders in the field.
Lt. Gen. Stephen Fogarty, the head of Army Cyber Command, said commanders shouldn't have to have something explained to them by the EW guy, the SIGINT guy and then the cyber guy.
“What we decided is there's a better way, we have to pull it all together” for the commander, he said at the event. “We're going to have to work together because we all operate in the same space. And so do we really need three separate tools to plan operations in the spectrum? My argument would be no.”
From an organizational perspective, the 29 series electronic warfare personnel will have deep knowledge in both cyber and electromagnetic spectrum operations. On the materiel side, especially with programs like the Terrestrial Layer System, the cyber and intel community are meeting regularly to integrate their requirements, officials said. In addition, Maj. Gen. John Morrison, commander of the Cyber Center of Excellence, told reporters in June that the Intelligence Center of Excellence is working with the Cyber Center to help ensure integrated formation and integrated capabilities.
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February 21, 2020 | International, C4ISR, Security
How many users were affected by the DISA breach?
Andrew Eversden A breach of a system hosted by the Defense Information Systems Agency, the Department of Defense's primary IT support agency, affected “approximately 200,000” users after a malicious actor may have gained access to names and Social Security numbers, according to a Pentagon spokesman. Chuck Prichard, a DoD spokesman, said there is “no evidence to suggest that any of the potentially compromised [personally identifiable information] was misused.” DISA is sending letters notifying potentially affected users, in line with agency policy. He added that affected individuals “will subsequently receive additional correspondence with information about actions that can be taken to mitigate possible negative impacts.” The news of the breach was first reported by Reuters. Prichard said the breach was discovered during summer 2019. According to Reuters, which viewed a copy of the letter sent out to DISA officials, the breach occurred between May and July 2019. Affected users will also receive free credit monitoring, Prichard said. Prichard declined to specify what network was breached, only that it was hosted by DISA. He also declined to comment on how long the actor was in the network. “DoD and DISA take the security of our people, information (or data) and operations very seriously and actively monitor potential threats," Prichard said. “For operational security reasons, the department does not comment on the actions taken to mitigate risks or vulnerabilities.” He did add that “DISA ... conducted a thorough investigation of this incident and taken appropriate measures to secure the network.” According to its website, DISA employs over 8,000 military and civilian employees. The agency's mission includes protecting the Department of Defense Information Network, a global DoD network used for sharing and storing information. DISA runs a variety of other systems, including combat support, DoD enterprise email and other communication networks. https://www.fifthdomain.com/dod/2020/02/20/how-many-users-were-affected-by-the-disa-breach/
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August 18, 2024 | International, Aerospace
Poland Signs LOA for 96 Boeing AH-64E Apache Helicopters
The AH-64E is the most modern configuration of the Apache and combines a battle-tested design with transformational technologies to deliver an unmatched mix of performance and versatility