Best quote of the article:
“A bunch of intel dorks wrote this, not understanding how people interact or how things work,” a former intelligence officer said.
U.S. Regional Commanders Get New Cyber Muscle
Defense News, 9 June 2012
Just as details of the covert American/Israeli collaboration in the delivery of the famed Stuxnet bug surface, the U.S. Defense Department has created a formal structure for cyber operations that places increased capability in the hands of geographic combatant commanders.
The structure, based on an outline drafted by the Joint Chiefs of Staff in January, creates new cyber-focused structures within each command that will organize the implementation of intelligence and cyber tools, both defensive and offensive. The transitional structure will be evaluated and potentially improved within the year.
Previously, combatant commanders had limited access to cyber tools, relying on reaching back to U.S. Cyber Command (CYBERCOM). The delay and lack of capability limited cyber operations.
The new structure looks to change that, allowing for tightly integrated cyber effects. In a memorandum marked “For Official Use Only,” dated May 1, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta authorized the plan designed as a “first step” toward standardized cyber operations, according to documents obtained by Defense News.
Under the new structure, joint cyber centers (JCCs) will have chief responsibility for forward cyber operations, and serve as a link between combatant commanders and CYBERCOM cyber support elements (CSEs) that will provide intelligence information and operational know-how.
The May 1 memorandum authorized the implementation of a transitional framework, and directed officials to act with haste.
“It is imperative that we move quickly and put the transitional framework in place as soon as possible,” Panetta wrote.
