ARLINGTON, Va.: CACI International and the U. S. Naval Institute released a report on Cyber Threats to National Security: Countering Challenges to the Global Supply Chain. The report publishes recommendations from the most recent symposium in the new Asymmetric Threats series on cyber security.
Held on March 2 at Ft. Myer, Va., the Cyber Threats symposium featured keynote speakers that included former Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge, former Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon R. England, and former Virginia Governor James S. Gilmore, III.
The report notes how cyber security has increasingly become a national security priority over the past decade. Cyber threats may be perpetrated with little cost and few resources. Cyber attacks are typically anonymous, launched from any of billions of sources worldwide. The effects may be immediate and obvious, or elude recognition for years.
U.S. supply chains have historically been protected from threat because they were generally internal to North America, the report adds. This is no longer true in the cyber age. The vast majority of U.S. supply chains rely on information technologies that can be compromised at any time. Global partners and worldwide connectivity increase the risk. The responsibility to protect U.S. cyber assets must be shared among the government, the private sector, and every private citizen.
The Asymmetric Threats symposia were begun to provide a forum for thought leadership on national security. The first Asymmetric Threats series focused on threats to U.S. and global security. Symposium One, co-sponsored by CACI and the National Defense University and held on May 8, 2008, at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C., defined and characterized the asymmetrical threat problem.
Symposium Two, co-sponsored by CACI and USNI and held at Ft. Meyer, Va., on Oct. 21, 2008, addressed the efficacy of soft power instruments such as diplomacy and economic aid.
Symposium Three, co-sponsored by CACI and USNI and held at Ft. Meyer on March 24, 2009, concluded the series by addressing how soft power can be combined with military hard power to form “smart power” tools for defeating asymmetric threats.
The new Asymmetric Threats series now focuses on cyber security, and the second in a projected series of Cyber Threats symposia is planned for the spring of 2011.
Read Full Report in PDF format.
