ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY

American businesses and governments at all levels are not yet fully prepared for the dangers of cyberattacks, former Army Undersecretary Patrick Murphy said June 14.

The U.S. needs a tactical and technical cyber advantage over potential adversaries, something it’s currently lacking, Murphy said at an Association of the U.S. Army Hot Topic forum focused on Army cyber programs.

The Army’s capabilities in the cyber domain are maturing across the “entire information dimension,” and building that information dominance will require finding and retaining the right talent, the commanding general of Army Cyber Command said.

Lt. Gen. Maria Barrett, who described her organization as one that has gone from focusing on offensive and defensive cyber operations to one that has “really now matured that across the entire information dimension,” said continuing to build those capabilities “takes a village” of the right people.

Registration is open for an Association of the U.S. Army Hot Topic focused on Army cyber.

Scheduled for June 14 at AUSA headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, the daylong Army Cyber Hot Topic will feature speakers such as Lt. Gen. Maria Barrett, commanding general of Army Cyber Command, and Patrick Murphy, a former Army undersecretary and AUSA senior fellow.

The Army is hardening its networks and strengthening cooperation with allies and partners to protect against cyberattacks and information warfare, a panel of experts said May 17 at the Association of the U.S. Army’s LANPAC Symposium and Exposition in Honolulu.

“If you’re going to make a very quick transition to crisis or conflict, that is not the time to be hardening your networks, that is not the time to be wondering if your allies and partners have hardened their networks,” said Lt. Gen. Maria Barrett, commanding general of Army Cyber Command.

The Army is reworking its sustainment doctrine and training soldiers in combat support and combat service support jobs to be “more datacentric” in preparation for large-scale combat, the Army’s top logistician said.

In remarks at a breakfast hosted by the Association of the U.S. Army as part of its Coffee Series, Lt. Gen. Charles Hamilton, deputy Army chief of staff for logistics, G-4, said the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February caused the Army sustainment sector to rethink its posture for large-scale combat and how soldiers are preparing to support the warfighter.

As global threats continue to evolve, the National Guard is investing in its cyber capabilities to fight on the digital front and keep those threats at bay.

The National Guard is “at the nexus” of cyber efforts at the state and federal levels, and fills that nexus well, said Col. Joed Carbonell, chief of the National Guard Bureau’s cyber division. 

Army cyber forces must quickly and continually adapt to keep up with ever evolving threats, a panel of experts said Oct. 12 at the Association of the U.S. Army’s Annual Meeting and Exposition.

The Army constantly monitors and analyzes threats from China, which is America’s “pacing challenge,” and other adversaries including Russia, North Korea, Iran and terrorist organizations, said Lt. Gen. Laura Potter, deputy Army chief of staff for intelligence, G-2. “This really is a global problem,” she said.

With the threat of a cyberattack on the U.S. a virtual certainty, the Army is working to grow its cyber warrior force to help close the vulnerability gap, the service’s top civilian leader said.

In testimony before the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said the Army has captured important lessons from the conflict in Ukraine, including that “the information domain is incredibly important, and the force that can dominate in the information space I think will have the advantage in future conflict.”