While cyber was one of the original three topics of focus for the Rapid Capabilities Office, which stood up officially in August 2016, it has taken a backseat of sorts behind electronic warfare and position, navigation and timing challenges.

The office is currently working three areas of cyber, RCO Director Doug Wiltsie told C4ISRNET Oct. 9 during the annual Association of the United States Army conference. The first two involve looking at applications or technologies aimed at hardening weapon systems that were not designed with cybersecurity in mind.

When the original coding was done, it was integrated, Wiltsie explained, noting that is a very bad thing. “There are technologies that we can insert that will help us improve the hardening of those systems,” he said. “That’s really where my team is spending most of its time.”

This lines up with what the National Defense Authorization Act has demanded of the services, but is something they would have to do anyway, Wiltsie said, especially given the threat. “Look at what the Russians have done in the past and what you’ll see is we’ve got to harden these systems,” he said.

The Army organizations RCO is working with on this effort include Army Cyber Command and the Cyber Directorate DAMO-CY.

The third effort the RCO is working on the cyber front involves delivering kits to cyber protection teams. This was based on an operational needs statement from ARCYBER from a year or so ago, Wiltsie said, adding that they started deploying the kits last year.

These kits are being delivered to the CPTs retained by the Army, as opposed to those CPTs the Army is responsible to provide to Cyber Command for the joint fight through the cyber mission force.

About Mark Pomerleau

Mark Pomerleau is a reporter for C4ISRNET, covering information warfare and cyberspace.

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