US Military IT Systems Vulnerable to Attacks from Sophisticated Opponents, Report Shows

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A 146-page report compiled by the United States Department of Defense’s (DoD) Defense Science Board Task Force reveals that the country’s military is not prepared to withstand cyberattacks launched by sophisticated adversaries. “The United States cannot be confident that our critical Information Technology (IT) systems will work under attack from a sophisticated and well-resourced opponent utilizing cyber capabilities in combination with all of their military and intelligence capabilities,” the report reads. “While this is also true for others, this Task Force strongly believes the DoD needs to take the lead and build an effective response to measurably increase confidence in the IT systems we depend on (public and private) and at the same time decrease a would-be attacker's confidence in the effectiveness of their capabilities to compromise DoD systems.” The study, “Resilient Military Systems and the Advanced Cyber Threat,” highlights that the cyber threat is serious and even goes to compare it to the nuclear threat of the Cold War. The Task Force notes that while the DoD’s actions are numerous, they’re fragmented, which makes the department unprepared for threats that pose a risk not only to the United States’ national security, but also its economic security. The report also emphasizes that many US networks use “inherently insecure architectures” that include numerous components built by other countries. Another conclusion of the Task Force is that it will “take years” for the DoD to develop an effective response that includes offensive capabilities, deterrence and mission assurance. The new study also makes a number of recommendations which could be viewed by the DoD as a strategy to address cyber threats. “There is no silver bullet that will reduce DoD cyber risk to zero. While the problem cannot be eliminated, it can and must be determinedly managed through the combination of deterrence and improved cyber defense. Deterrence is achieved with offensive cyber, some protected – conventional capabilities, and anchored with US nuclear weapons,” the report reads.