Balancing act: Cybersecurity vs. cuts

While Defense Secretary Leon Panetta recently warned of “a cyberattack that could be the equivalent of Pearl Harbor,” some worry that cuts being mulled over by Congress and the White House could sink the nation’s nascent cyberdefenses.
The Defense Department is trying to beef up protection of the nation’s computer networks and, at the same time, embrace cyberwarfare as part of the nation’s potential offensive arsenal — but in an era of tighter budgets.

Amid that fiscal reality, some Pentagon officials, lawmakers and military experts are urging deficit-reduction politics be put aside to ensure the nation’s cyberforces get the resources they need to prepare for a looming digital Cold War.

“The capability exists to deny and degrade our networks, or worse, to cause catastrophic damage to them,” former Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn told POLITICO. “As we look forward, the importance of protecting our networks is going to grow, and that’s one of the reasons we need to invest more in cybersecurity — regardless of what the budget situation is.”
Attacks against military networks are growing — the Air Force’s drone program was recently breached, for instance. The Defense Department is also faced with working with the Department of Homeland Security and the private sector to protect the nation’s critical infrastructure — such as electric grids and telecommunications services — potentially with less money next year.

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