Today's cyber domain is a contested battlespace where hackers continually probe networks for sensitive data and engage in a seemingly endless stream of malicious acts. Upgrading current security technologies and practices, while adding new measures as they emerge, is imperative to keep military networks from becoming easy targets.

In a recent C4ISR & Networks webcast, COL David Isaacson, deputy commander of the Army Network Enterprise Command, joined Paul Christman, vice president, Dell Software Federal, and Barry Rosenberg, event moderator and editor, C4ISR & Networks, to discuss current and future threats to military networks and the steps being taken to strengthen security and keep malicious actors at bay.

A level playing field

Isaacson opened the discussion by observing that cyber adversaries are becoming more competitive, relentlessly looking for opportunities to create a tactical advantage. "Cyberspace is the ultimate level playing field — it plays the same for everyone," he stated. "For modest investments, you can rapidly gain a foothold and work in this space more competitively than you would in any other."

Isaacson noted that the cyber domain allows adversaries to launch attacks with relatively little risk, yet achieve a potentially significant payoff. "There are adversaries out there that would rather spend blood and treasure in this [cyber] domain than try to come up and go toe to toe with the United States in land warfare, for example." The growing number of connected military systems makes it imperative that cybersecurity be made as strong as humanly possible, Isaacson said. "In our order for our planes to fly, our weapons systems to be precise and for our soldiers and our ships to operate properly, we need to maintain dominance in this space," he stated. Yet Isaacson also vowed that future security measures, no matter how stringent, will never impede services to authorized users. "We are not going to protect ourselves so much that the effectiveness is reduced because we are not able to communicate," he stated.

Network modernization

Isaacson noted that the Army is currently relying on a network that was built up in piecemeal fashion over many years. "No engineer in their right mind, and no one who is comfortable with network engineering, would have ever established the network we are currently operating on," he said. "We have to move from where we are to where we want to be."

According to Isaacson, a modernized network needs to "offer a reduced attack surface, increased resiliency, greater capacity and reduced cost." It also must have a standardized configuration and network operations, he added. The ultimate goal, Isaacson said, is to develop "a global, inherently joint network that greatly improves security and defense."

Isaacson explained that network modernization isn't just a "PowerPoint plan" for the Army. He noted that substantial real-world progress is already being made. "We have 50,000 customers currently protected under the new architecture both at Joint Base San Antonio and Fort Hood, Texas," he said, adding that "the number of individuals migrating to the new architecture is increasing every week."

While steady progress is being made, Isaacson said that the Army isn't operating with its head in the sand when it comes to joint regional security stacks, believing that the key network upgrade will be the panacea to stopping all penetrations. He noted that many challenges still remain. "We have to be able to operate in contested space, we have to be able to operate in a degraded environment," he explained. Creating a steady stream of security advancements and training is also essential, Isaacson said, because no matter how much progress is made, "a determined adversary and learned adversary will find another way to attack us."

Survey results

Dell's Christman presented the results of a Dell survey revealing important insights into government security trends, including that 93 percent of federal executives believe that cyber defenses need significant improvement and that 61 percent state budget constraints are a top obstacle to achieving more holistic cybersecurity.

Looking into future trends, Christman warned that emerging technologies, such as the Internet of Things, are poised to create a fresh array of network threats. He suggested that military IT managers begin thinking about how current security strategies can be used to protect against next-generation cyber menaces.

AVAILABLE NOW: Listen to the webcast on demand.

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