[iwar] [fc:DOD.demands.faster,.better.cyber.intell]

From: Fred Cohen (fc@all.net)
Date: 2002-07-15 11:48:52
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Date: Mon, 15 Jul 2002 11:48:52 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [iwar] [fc:DOD.demands.faster,.better.cyber.intell]
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DOD demands faster, better cyber intell

BY Dan Caterinicchia  July 15, 2002
<a href="http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2002/0715/news-dod-07-15-02.asp">http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2002/0715/news-dod-07-15-02.asp>
Federal computer Week

Striking a balance between the Defense Department's dwindling human
intelligence resources and its advancing information technology tools —
and acting quickly on the information gathered — is essential to
protecting the armed services against cyberattacks and succeeding in the
war on terrorism, according to military leaders.

Lt. Gen. David McKiernan, director of Army operations, said cyberwarfare
is a threat that the armed services must monitor daily because "a modern
or future opponent can get into our decision-making through the cyber
domain." It is especially difficult to defend against these attacks, he
added, because strikes can originate from anywhere.

But the hardest part comes when that enemy is no longer online. "At some
point, if the opponent is blended in with the local culture, tribe or
city and is not talking on signals or with computers...then you have to
gather intelligence through human sources," McKiernan told Federal
Computer Week after testifying at a July 11 hearing of the House Special
Oversight Panel on Terrorism. "We need to develop the full range of
capabilities and the right regional expertise, and do it over the long
haul."

Air Force Maj. Gen. Randall Schmidt, assistant deputy chief of staff for
Air and Space Operations, said that coordinating the intelligence,
surveillance and reconnaissance network in Afghanistan internally, and
among the services, took "ingenuity and cooperation." He added that the
process must be speeded up and tightened for continued success.

At a similar hearing last month before the same oversight panel, Navy
and Marine Corps officials also agreed on the importance of faster
intelligence and information sharing. Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Emil Bedard,
deputy commandant for plans, policies and operations, said that
real-time intelligence sharing has improved throughout the operations in
Afghanistan but is still not perfect.

Bedard said that Operation Enduring Freedom has illustrated the
"reach-back" capabilities that technology provides. He used the example
of an Afghanistan-based Marine commander receiving terrain, landing
zone, route and the latest enemy situation data from intelligence
officials in Quantico, Va., in less than four hours.

"Having direct feeds [from] the intelligence-gathering platform to the
people working the mission — we need to get better at that," Bedard
said.

Rear Adm. Joseph Krol Jr., assistant deputy chief of naval operations
for plans, policy and operations, agreed. "Speed is [what] we need to
concentrate on," he said at last month's hearing. "Our in-theater
ability to operate with our allies has been successful, but needs to get
better. We need more plug-and-play situations."

Rep. Jim Saxton (R-N.J.), chairman of the terrorism panel, and ranking
member Rep. Jim Turner (D-Texas) expressed concern about the military's
ability to share information with the intelligence community, namely the
CIA.

Krol said that the Navy receives information collected by spies
"eventually, but we're not 100 percent sure what the source is." He
added that the service works that data into operations when it can, but
that process takes longer than it should because of the unknown source
of the information.

At last week's hearing, Rep. Jim Gibbons (R-Nev.) asked the DOD
officials for their "most significant intelligence need," and they
answered that they needed to increase the development of the same
technology: unmanned aerial vehicles, such as the Air Force's Predator,
which has been successfully deployed in Afghanistan (see box).

"The ability to provide that asset to operational and tactical
commanders, now and in the future...and put it into the hands of the
warfighter...is absolutely critical," the Army's McKiernan said.

"This all points to the importance of the detection of intelligence to
[the time] where it can be actioned," said the Air Force's Schmidt. "The
value of intelligence is only as good as how you action it."

***

'Enduring' successes

Defense Department officials outlined several of the services'
technology- aided intelligence successes in Operation Enduring Freedom,
including:

* Using prototypes of the Prophet system, a new ground-based
surveillance system that enables commanders in the field to intercept
radio frequency signals generated by many kinds of electronic equipment.

* Trojan SPIRIT, or Special Purpose Integrated Remote Intelligence
Terminal, which can carry high volumes of secure intelligence from
national agencies and Army headquarters to commanders in the field. The
tool was used within hours after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and has
supported subsequent national security events, including the Super Bowl.
A lightweight, portable version has been deployed in Afghanistan.

* The Air Force's Predator, an unmanned aerial vehicle that uses radar,
a television camera and an infrared camera for surveillance,
reconnaissance and targeting.

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