Securing vital networks has become as critical as defending borders and physical territory. But the Pentagon and its new Cyber Command are grappling with what constitutes an act of war in cyberspace.
Lt. Col. Dave Hollis, a senior policy analyst at the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence, and Katherine Hollis, who specializes in cyberspace issues at the Research Staff at the Institute for Defense Analysis, lead our cover package with an overview of what cyberwar might look like.
Industry cyberspace experts Mike Lloyd, Ed Granstedt and Troy Nolan describe the technologies that are showing best promise as future cyber weapons.
Russ Hampsey and Sean McKenna are working in Afghanistan with International Security Assistance Force’s counterinsurgency advisory team. They outline the unique aspects of this campaign and the importance of getting resources and empowerment down to the company-level intelligence support guys on the ground.
In Perspectives, Capt. Charlie Kels, Mackenzie Eaglen and P.W. Singer provide a trio of commentaries on other issues in the news: “don’t ask, don’t tell” reform; Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ questioning of the fleet the Navy needs; and the risky trend to double-hat leaders with two jobs, such as Gen. Keith Alexander’s appointment as chief of Cyber Command while keeping his job as head of the National Security Agency.
Finally, a word about our essay author, Gen. Franciszek Gagor, Poland’s chief of the General Staff who died in the April plane crash in Russia that claimed the lives of the Polish president and many of Poland’s political and military leaders. Gagor was a veteran of Operation Desert Storm and a key member of the Polish Armed Forces preparations team for Polish accession to NATO, overseeing the initial rounds of NATO defense planning for Poland. A graduate of the U.S. National War College, he was a strong promoter of the U.S.-Polish alliance and advocate for NATO. His essay, written shortly before his death, is a clarion call for the alliance’s continued necessity.
— Karen Walker, Editor
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