DEFENSIVE RUINOUS INFORMATION WARFARE TOOLS AND TACTICS

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The Pentagon recently announced the formation of five technology centers that, beginning in 2002, will be staffed by reservists who work in the private sector by day and spend one weekend per month defending the Defense Department against cyberattacks, through the use of defensive ruinous information warfare tools and tactics. The Deputy Secretary of Defense approved a plan that would establish five Joint Reserve Virtual Information Operations and information assurance organizations (JRVIO). The centers’ mission will be to ensure that American war fighters dominate the computer information domain in future conflicts, according to the Pentagon.

Information operations have emerged as an area that is extremely well suited to integration of reserve capabilities. Members of the reserves and National Guard are often way ahead by the very nature of their civilian employment, trained in their workplaces to exploit technology.

The Defense Department has long been battling a high-tech braindrain spurred by a booming economy and the lure of higher-paying jobs in the private sector. The change has made the National Guard and reserves a repository of high-tech skills. At the same time, the Pentagon is facing an increase in cyberattacks and intrusions and has increased its focus on using cybertactics to fight future conflicts.

The teams could be involved in a wide range of efforts, including enemy computer network attacks, defense of U.S. critical infrastructures, psychological operations, intelligence support, vulnerability assessments, and reviews of Pentagon Web sites for sensitive information.

The Pentagon expects 293 reserve officers and enlisted personnel to staff the five JRVIOs during fiscal 2002 and 2003 in Maryland, Virginia, and Texas. However, from 2004 to 2008, that number is expected to expand to more than 700.

The initiative is a result of a two-year Pentagon study called “Reserve Component Employment 2006.” That study recommended the formation of a cyberdefense unit that would consist of people with IT skills who could work in different locations instead of at a single center. The study also urged the department to recruit high-tech savvy people from the private sector.

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