CommunityEditor
08-28-2009, 07:48 PM
There’s a whole new way of making war out there, and Delaware is getting ready to join the fight.
The Delaware Air National Guard broke ground Thursday on a $3.2 million building that will house the 166th Network Warfare Squadron, a unit dedicated to the security of the vast digital information systems that keep everything in America running — from traffic lights to satellites.
Those are the systems most vulnerable to attack in modern times as conflicts become less about brute force and more about computer skills. Russia reportedly used cyber-warfare to shut down networks in Georgia before military strikes against that country last year, for example.
Last spring, President Barack Obama announced a sweeping new cybersecurity policy, including the creation of a White House cybersecurity coordinator and a Cyber Command within the Department of Defense.
Officials said the Delaware Air National Guard base, inside New Castle Airport along U.S. Route 13, is among the first three units in the country assigned to support Cyber Command, which becomes active in October.
“It’s all about this new and emerging mission,” said Maj. Gen. Frank Vavala, adjutant general of the Delaware National Guard. “Cyber-warfare is critical to the defense of our nation. This puts us at the point of the spear.”
Delaware was chosen because of its intellectual pool, officials said. The number of banking institutions and scientific companies based in the state means there is a significant population of chemists, computer experts and financial experts serving in the guard.
Col. Tom Thomas is one of them. A computer architect for Bank of America, Thomas is commander of the Network Warfare Squadron, which activated in December.
“We have an abundant level of skills here in Delaware,” he said. “We’re also in a good location because we are outside the capital.”
Thomas couldn’t divulge details of what will go on inside the 9,000-square-foot building once it’s completed because much of the work will be classified.
He did say the squadron will focus on defensive and offensive operations, planning and the analysis of threats to information networks, domestic and foreign.
“Other nations are investing great resources toward this and it’s incumbent upon us to be prepared,” he said.
The money for the project is coming entirely from the federal government, and guard leaders gave credit to Delaware’s congressional delegation for securing the funds.
Sens. Tom Carper and Ted Kaufman and Rep. Mike Castle joined state and local leaders for a brief ground-breaking ceremony.
“The next war will be different than the ones we are fighting today,” said Carper, who served as a Navy flight officer in the Vietnam War and later in the reserve.
He pointed to the threat of other nations hacking into computer systems to gather information on the design of new weapons, the disruption of utilities and infrastructure, and financial data.
“They will steal our intellectual horsepower and be able to match us in the air or on the sea,” he said. “It’s just a different world.”
The building will be certified “green,” with features such as geothermal heating and cooling.
It is scheduled to open in 12 months.
Article: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2009/08/gns_guard_delaware_network_squadron_082809/
The Delaware Air National Guard broke ground Thursday on a $3.2 million building that will house the 166th Network Warfare Squadron, a unit dedicated to the security of the vast digital information systems that keep everything in America running — from traffic lights to satellites.
Those are the systems most vulnerable to attack in modern times as conflicts become less about brute force and more about computer skills. Russia reportedly used cyber-warfare to shut down networks in Georgia before military strikes against that country last year, for example.
Last spring, President Barack Obama announced a sweeping new cybersecurity policy, including the creation of a White House cybersecurity coordinator and a Cyber Command within the Department of Defense.
Officials said the Delaware Air National Guard base, inside New Castle Airport along U.S. Route 13, is among the first three units in the country assigned to support Cyber Command, which becomes active in October.
“It’s all about this new and emerging mission,” said Maj. Gen. Frank Vavala, adjutant general of the Delaware National Guard. “Cyber-warfare is critical to the defense of our nation. This puts us at the point of the spear.”
Delaware was chosen because of its intellectual pool, officials said. The number of banking institutions and scientific companies based in the state means there is a significant population of chemists, computer experts and financial experts serving in the guard.
Col. Tom Thomas is one of them. A computer architect for Bank of America, Thomas is commander of the Network Warfare Squadron, which activated in December.
“We have an abundant level of skills here in Delaware,” he said. “We’re also in a good location because we are outside the capital.”
Thomas couldn’t divulge details of what will go on inside the 9,000-square-foot building once it’s completed because much of the work will be classified.
He did say the squadron will focus on defensive and offensive operations, planning and the analysis of threats to information networks, domestic and foreign.
“Other nations are investing great resources toward this and it’s incumbent upon us to be prepared,” he said.
The money for the project is coming entirely from the federal government, and guard leaders gave credit to Delaware’s congressional delegation for securing the funds.
Sens. Tom Carper and Ted Kaufman and Rep. Mike Castle joined state and local leaders for a brief ground-breaking ceremony.
“The next war will be different than the ones we are fighting today,” said Carper, who served as a Navy flight officer in the Vietnam War and later in the reserve.
He pointed to the threat of other nations hacking into computer systems to gather information on the design of new weapons, the disruption of utilities and infrastructure, and financial data.
“They will steal our intellectual horsepower and be able to match us in the air or on the sea,” he said. “It’s just a different world.”
The building will be certified “green,” with features such as geothermal heating and cooling.
It is scheduled to open in 12 months.
Article: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2009/08/gns_guard_delaware_network_squadron_082809/