Saturday, October 30, 2010

Air Force School Focuses on Cybersecurity

Air Force School Focuses on Cybersecurity

By Ian Graham
Emerging Media, Defense Media Activity
WASHINGTON, Oct. 29, 2010 - "The wars of the future will be fought in the cyber domain" sounds like a bad movie tagline from 20 years ago, but it's becoming truer by the day, and the Air Force is readying troops for that battle.
During an Oct. 27 "DOD Live" bloggers roundtable, Air Force Brig. Gen. Walter D. Givhan, commandant of the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, discussed the importance of cybersecurity and the newest class of students graduating from the AFIT Center for Cyberspace Research.
AFIT itself has been in existence since 1919, researching and expanding the technology available to the U.S. military, beginning with flight.
"Even at that time, there was a new technology -- flight, the ability to fly," Givhan said. "Part of what had to be core to us in dealing with this new technology was education -- education and research -- and that we couldn't just depend upon others, but it had to be part of what we were doing, directly connected to us."
Now, Givhan said, AFIT has added graduate-level cybersecurity education and research to its academic offerings. Some training and research has been going on already, since the advent of computer networking on a large scale, but now AFIT offers master's degrees and doctorates in cyber fields.
"What we are doing is truly continuing education -- it's not training," he said. "We're educating [students] on the capabilities, with a little bit of hands-on work as well on particular technology and capabilities within that technology. But it's not like we're giving them a specific cyberweapon and teaching them how to fire or use that specific cyberweapon."
The two main courses, Cyber 200 and Cyber 300, give students two slightly different looks at cyber operations, but cover the same main topics: the technology, the policy, the doctrine and the law as they relate to the cyber domain.
Cyber 200 is intended for field grade officers and some noncommissioned officers with six to eight years of service and some experience in the cyber domain. In the three-week course, Givhan said, students focus on tactical and operational issues relevant to what they may face in their line of work.
The more advanced two-week 300 course, designed for higher-ranking officers with 12 or more years of total service with at least six of those years working with cyber issues, focuses on broader concepts, the general said.
"These are the folks who are actually going to be helping make this happen in terms of what the joint force commander needs and how to integrate our cyber capabilities into his plan and to accomplish his objectives," Givhan said.
The first class of Cyber 200 and Cyber 300 students graduated yesterday.
The venture is exciting, Givhan said, because it involves new technology. They're testing limits, he added, rather than working within "safe" parameters. Thanks to the growth of computer networking jobs in the private sector, he noted, the Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard can be involved closely as well.
"They're actually involved in this on the outside, in civilian jobs having to do with cyber," he said.
The field's growth in the private sector also helps to bring in recruits who have worked for civilian companies in network administration or security. AFIT has begun some programs for ROTC cadets, Givhan said, adding that he hopes those will expand as people learn more about the importance of cybersecurity and as the Air Force can teach more about it.
"This is a conversation. ... This is not a one-way sort of delivering lectures and things, and people are just soaking it up," the general said. "This is all so new and exciting and rapidly changing.
"We depend upon the participation of everyone who's part of the class and the instructors," he continued, "and we all learn from each other in this. And it's changing so fast that the iterative process that we use to reinforce what we're doing ... is going to change every time we give it."
 
Biographies:
Air Force Brig. Gen. Walter D. Givhan
Related Sites:
Air Force Institute of Technology
"DOD Live" Bloggers Roundtable
Special Report: Cybersecurity

Related Articles:
Special

NORAD, USNORTHCOM hosts TAG conference



By Staff Sgt. Thomas J. Doscher
NORAD and USNORTHCOM Public Affairs
Oct. 8, 2010
PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. – In an effort to foster relationships and further collaboration, the North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command hosted adjutants general from 54 U.S. states and territories in the NORAD and USNORTHCOM and National Guard Bureau Senior Leader Conference Oct. 3 – 5.

The conference, held at the Antlers Hilton in Colorado Springs and Peterson AFB, focused on improving understanding between the different organizations as well as cooperative efforts such as Defense Support of Civil Authorities and homeland defense.
NORAD, USNORTHCOM hosts TAG conference
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Navy Adm. James Winnefeld, North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command commander, makes his opening remarks to the NORAD and USNORTHCOM and National Guard Bureau Senior Leader Conference at the Antlers Hilton in Colorado Springs Oct. 4. The conference focused on improving understanding between the different organizations as well as cooperative efforts such as Defense Support of Civil Authorities and homeland defense. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Thomas J. Doscher)
Although the National Guard Bureau chief meets with the TAGs four to six times a year, this is the first time that NORAD and USNORTHCOM have been involved in the meeting.

Gen. Craig McKinley, Chief of the National Guard Bureau, called the commands’ involvement in the conference a historic event.

“It’s the first time the adjutants general of the states, territories and district have been in Colorado Springs to hear the commander of U.S. Northern Command and talk about the things we have in common and the things we need to work on,” McKinley said. “We are bringing our nation, our states, territories and district much closer by doing this.”

Along with the state and territorial TAGs, 15 NGB senior leaders, including Lt. Gen. Harry Wyatt, Director of the Air National Guard and Maj. Gen. Raymond Carpenter, acting director of the Army National Guard were in attendance. Dr. Paul Stockton, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Americas’ Security Affairs, also addressed the TAGs, focusing on unresolved challenges in terror prevention.

“The threat is diversifying,” Stockton said. “Yes, Osama bin Laden and the franchisees would love to be able to carry out another large, complex attack for which planning- preparations - would be extensive. We’re doing what we can to disrupt their ability to prepare for such a large-scale attack, and in part because of our success in doing so, we need to prepare for other kinds of attacks.”

One of the risks Stockton spoke on and urged preparation for was that of small, commando-like attacks in urban centers like those that took place in Mumbai, India, in November 2008. He offered the TAGs a chilling scenario they may one day be faced with.

“One of your cities has been attacked by a commando team,” he told them. “There’s credible evidence that a city in a neighboring state is going to be attacked. What does that look like, and above all what does that look like for the role of the National Guard in prevention and the demands on the Department of Defense as a whole for support to civil authorities?”

McKinley said he’d like to see the two commands participate in future conferences and that the cooperation and trust built between the commands and the states could pay huge dividends in the long run.

“This isn’t a one-time deal,” he said. “We need to continue to foster good relations, communications, build trust, because the American public deserves that.”

Texas man who was part of father & son team of pirated software sellers sentenced to 18 months in prison


Texas man who was part of father & son team of pirated software sellers sentenced to 18 months in prison

WASHINGTON - A man from Wichita Falls, Texas, was sentenced on Friday to18 months in prison and ordered to pay $599,771 in restitution for selling pirated computer software through the Internet.  The case was investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Todd Alan Cook, 24, pleaded guilty on March 11 to criminal copyright infringement in the U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va.  Cook was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release after he completes his prison sentence.
According to court documents, from July 2006 through May 2008, Cook and his father, Robert D. Cook, and another individual operated several websites that sold large volumes of counterfeit software with a combined retail value of about $1 million.  Cook admitted that he and his co-conspirators used these websites to sell downloadable counterfeit software without authorization from the copyright owners.  The father, Robert Cook, also pleaded guilty on March 11 to one count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement.  He is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 3. 
This case was investigated by the ICE National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center, with substantial assistance provided by the ICE HSI office in Dallas.  The Wichita Falls Police Department also assisted in the investigation.
The ICE National Intellectual Property Rights Investigation Center (IPR Center) is one of the U.S. Government's key weapons in the fight against counterfeiting.  The IPR Center offers one-stop shopping for both law enforcement and the private sector to address the growing transnational threat of counterfeit merchandise.  The IPR Center coordinates outreach to U.S. rights holders and conducts domestic and international law enforcement training to stem the growing counterfeiting threat as well as coordinating and directing anti-counterfeiting investigations. To learn more about the IPR Center, visit www.ice.gov.
The public is encouraged to report information on counterfeiting and trademark violations by calling (866) IPR-2060.

Air Force School Focuses on Cybersecurity

Air Force School Focuses on Cybersecurity

By Ian Graham
Emerging Media, Defense Media Activity
WASHINGTON, Oct. 29, 2010 - "The wars of the future will be fought in the cyber domain" sounds like a bad movie tagline from 20 years ago, but it's becoming truer by the day, and the Air Force is readying troops for that battle.
During an Oct. 27 "DOD Live" bloggers roundtable, Air Force Brig. Gen. Walter D. Givhan, commandant of the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, discussed the importance of cybersecurity and the newest class of students graduating from the AFIT Center for Cyberspace Research.
AFIT itself has been in existence since 1919, researching and expanding the technology available to the U.S. military, beginning with flight.
"Even at that time, there was a new technology -- flight, the ability to fly," Givhan said. "Part of what had to be core to us in dealing with this new technology was education -- education and research -- and that we couldn't just depend upon others, but it had to be part of what we were doing, directly connected to us."
Now, Givhan said, AFIT has added graduate-level cybersecurity education and research to its academic offerings. Some training and research has been going on already, since the advent of computer networking on a large scale, but now AFIT offers master's degrees and doctorates in cyber fields.
"What we are doing is truly continuing education -- it's not training," he said. "We're educating [students] on the capabilities, with a little bit of hands-on work as well on particular technology and capabilities within that technology. But it's not like we're giving them a specific cyberweapon and teaching them how to fire or use that specific cyberweapon."
The two main courses, Cyber 200 and Cyber 300, give students two slightly different looks at cyber operations, but cover the same main topics: the technology, the policy, the doctrine and the law as they relate to the cyber domain.
Cyber 200 is intended for field grade officers and some noncommissioned officers with six to eight years of service and some experience in the cyber domain. In the three-week course, Givhan said, students focus on tactical and operational issues relevant to what they may face in their line of work.
The more advanced two-week 300 course, designed for higher-ranking officers with 12 or more years of total service with at least six of those years working with cyber issues, focuses on broader concepts, the general said.
"These are the folks who are actually going to be helping make this happen in terms of what the joint force commander needs and how to integrate our cyber capabilities into his plan and to accomplish his objectives," Givhan said.
The first class of Cyber 200 and Cyber 300 students graduated yesterday.
The venture is exciting, Givhan said, because it involves new technology. They're testing limits, he added, rather than working within "safe" parameters. Thanks to the growth of computer networking jobs in the private sector, he noted, the Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard can be involved closely as well.
"They're actually involved in this on the outside, in civilian jobs having to do with cyber," he said.
The field's growth in the private sector also helps to bring in recruits who have worked for civilian companies in network administration or security. AFIT has begun some programs for ROTC cadets, Givhan said, adding that he hopes those will expand as people learn more about the importance of cybersecurity and as the Air Force can teach more about it.
"This is a conversation. ... This is not a one-way sort of delivering lectures and things, and people are just soaking it up," the general said. "This is all so new and exciting and rapidly changing.
"We depend upon the participation of everyone who's part of the class and the instructors," he continued, "and we all learn from each other in this. And it's changing so fast that the iterative process that we use to reinforce what we're doing ... is going to change every time we give it."
 
Biographies:
Air Force Brig. Gen. Walter D. Givhan
Related Sites:
Air Force Institute of Technology
"DOD Live" Bloggers Roundtable
Special Report: Cybersecurity

Related Articles:
Special

Mullen Renews Commitment to 'Military Health Issue of Our Era'

Mullen Renews Commitment to 'Military Health Issue of Our Era'

By Terri Moon Cronk
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Oct. 29, 2010 - Calling post-traumatic stress "the military health issue of our era," the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff last night re-emphasized his commitment to ensuring that war veterans and their families get all the help they need to deal with war's invisible scars.
"Post-traumatic stress syndrome spans many generations," Navy Adm. Mike Mullen told the audience at a special screening of the HBO documentary "War Torn, 1861-2010" at the Pentagon Auditorium.
The documentary, which debuts on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, chronicles the effect of combat stress and post-traumatic stress on servicemembers and their families from the Civil War to the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Mullen said he is concerned that the stress felt by servicemembers returning from war could plague them for years in the future.
"We must remember the profound sacrifices" made by the nation's servicemembers, he said. He expressed his concern for the veterans who come home with mental images and dreams of war they cannot shake, only to face new challenges that can include unemployment, financial strain or family stress.
Post-traumatic stress has affected many generations of "powerful and tough veterans and their families," Mullen said, and military leaders are doing all they can to help. "But much works remains to be done," he added, noting that the nation owes its returning veterans and their families the best possible care.
"We must take better care of them," he said. "We must take care of them for the rest of their lives."
Biographies:
Navy Adm. Mike Mullen

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs ADM Mike Mullen addressed the difficulties troops face after returning from war.


Chairman of the Joint Chiefs ADM Mike Mullen addressed the difficulties troops face after returning from war.

Contracts - Navy Air Force- DLA

CONTRACTS
NAVY
                Bechtel Plant Machinery, Inc., Monroeville, Pa., is being awarded a $303,472,860 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-07-C-2102) for naval nuclear propulsion components.  Work will be performed in Monroeville, Pa. (72.3 percent), and Schenectady, N.Y. (27.7 percent).  Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  No completion date or additional information is provided on contracts supporting the naval nuclear propulsion program.  The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.
                Electric Boat Corp., Groton, Conn., is being awarded a $174,486,588 cost-plus-fixed fee contract modification under previously awarded contract (N00024-10-C-2118) to exercise an option for lead yard services and development studies and design efforts related to Virginia-class submarines.  The contract provides lead yard services for Virginia-class submarines that will maintain, update, and support the Virginia-class design and related drawings and data for each Virginia-class submarine, including technology insertion, throughout its construction and post shakedown availability period.  The contractor will also provide all engineering and related lead yard services necessary for direct maintenance and support of Virginia-class ship specifications.  This contract option brings the cumulative value of the contract to $346,340,280.  Work will be performed in Groton, Conn. (91.1 percent); Newport News, Va. (4.0 percent); Quonset, R.I (3.5 percent); and Newport, R.I. (1.4 percent).  Work is expected to be completed by October 2011.  Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.
                Airborne Tactical Advantage Co., LLC, Newport News, Va., is being awarded a $45,183,480 modification to a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N00019-09-D-0021) for services in support of the commercial air services program, which provides contractor owned and operated Type III high subsonic and Type IV supersonic aircraft to Navy fleet customers for a wide variety of airborne threat simulation capabilities.  This provides for training shipboard and aircraft squadron weapon systems operators and aircrew how to counter potential enemy electronic warfare and electronic attack operations in today's electronic combat environment.  Work will be performed in Newport News, Va. (45 percent), Pt. Mugu, Calif. (35 percent), and various locations outside the continental United States (20 percent).  Work is expected to be completed in October 2011.  Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
                Kaman Aerospace Corp., Bloomfield, Conn., is being awarded an undefinitized contract action with a not-to-exceed value of $18,125,727 for engineering technical services in support of the Egyptian Air Force's H-2 program under the Foreign Military Sales program.  Services to be provided include in-country support for operational mission requirements.  Work will be performed in Bloomfield, Conn. (90 percent), and Alexandria, Egypt (10 percent), and is expected to be completed in October 2011.  Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to FAR 6.302-4.  The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity (N00019-11-C-0008).
                Raytheon Co., Tucson, Ariz., is being awarded a $17,655,028 fixed-price contract for two refurbished and upgraded rolling airframe missile (RAM) MK 49 Mod 3 guided missile launch systems (GMLS) with associated hardware for LPD-26 and one new Mod 3 GMLS for Egyptian fast missile craft.  The RAM MK 31 guided missile weapon system (GMWS) is a NATO cooperative development and production program between the participating governments (PGs) of the United States and Germany, developed in response to the need for an anti-ship missile (ASM) defense system. The MK 31 GMWS is comprised of the MK 44 guided missile round pack and the MK 49 GMLS.  The PGs operate under a memorandum of understanding which establishes business principles for program execution along with contracting and financial agreements for the RAM Program.  The contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $32,831,780.  This contract combines purchases for the U.S. Navy (37.1 percent) and the government of Egypt (62.9 percent) under the Foreign Military Sales program.  Work will be performed in Tucson, Ariz., and is expected to be completed by January 2013.  Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  This contract was not competitively procured.  The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00024-11-C-2404).
                IAP World Services, Inc., Cape Canaveral, Fla., is being awarded a $17,426,215 modification under a previously awarded firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N40080-07-D-0470) to exercise Option 4 for base operating support services at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Webster Outlying Field, and Solomons Recreation Center.  The work to be performed provides for base operating support services including all labor, supervision, management, tools, materials, equipment, facilities, transportation, and other items necessary to provide facility, refuse collection, swimming pools, wastewater, water and environmental maintenance services.  The total contract amount after exercise of this option will be $72,591,424.  Work will be performed in Patuxent River, Md.; St. Inigoes, Md.; Solomons, Md.; and Point Lookout, Md.  Work is expected to be completed by October 2011.  Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  The Naval Facilities Engineer Command, Washington, Public Works Department, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.
                Raytheon Co., Integrated Defense Systems, San Diego, Calif., is being awarded a $7,122,028 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the procurement of long-lead-time materials in support of LPD 26 integrated shipboard electronics.  Work will be performed in San Diego, Calif., and is expected to be completed by March 2012.  Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  This contract was not competitively procured.  The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00024-11-C-2404).
                General Dynamics, Electric Boat Corp., Groton, Conn., is being awarded a $6,507,857 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-10-C-4301) for ship forces duties aboard medium auxiliary repair dry dock (non self-propelled) (ARDM-4) shipping port during the vessel's service craft overhaul and recertification; protection and operation of the Navy's floating dry dock ARDM-4; and organizational level repairs and preservation of ARDM-4 at Naval Submarine Support Facility, Naval Submarine Base, New London, Conn., and Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, Va.  Work will be performed in Portsmouth, Va. (50 percent), and New London, Conn. (50 percent), and is expected to be completed by September 2011.  Contract funds in the amount of $1,626,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington Navy Yard, D.C., is the contracting activity.
AIR FORCE
                ITT Industries, Inc., Systems Division, Cape Canaveral, Fla., was awarded a maximum $74,628,309 contract modification which will provide a space life range systems contract extension for one base year which is Nov. 1, 2010 through Oct. 31, 2011; two six-month options (Nov. 1. 2011 through April 30, 2012; or May 1 through Oct. 31, 2012).  At this time, $23,295,379 has been obligated.  SMC SLG/PK, Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., is the contracting activity (F04701-01-C-0001; P00693).
                Boeing Co., Wichita, Kan., was awarded a $35,593,778 contract to provide heavy maintenance for the 2011 VC-25 aircraft 9000, a special mission aircraft that provides air transportation to the President, Vice President, cabinet members and other dignitaries on a worldwide basis, and is stationed at the 89th Airlift Wing, Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland.  At this time, $35,593,778 has been obligated.  727 ACSG/PKB, Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., is the contracting activity (FA8106-09-C-0005; P00019).
                L3 Communication Integrated Systems, Greeneville, Texas, was awarded an estimated $24,055,224 contract modification which will provide airborne information management system Phase III installation.  At this time, an estimated $24,055,224 has been obligated.  727 ACSG/PKB, Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., is the contracting activity (FA8106-08-C-0005; P00047).
                Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co., Newtown, Penn., was awarded a $10,709,047 contract modification which will provide on-orbit operations and sustainment for the PGS IIR satellites, for one year beginning Nov. 1, 2010 through Oct. 31, 2011.  At this time, the entire amount has been obligated.  SMC/GPSW/PK, Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif., is the contracting activity (FA8823-10-C-0002; PO0001).
                L3 Communications Vertex Aerospace, Madison, Miss., was awarded an $8,648,945 contract which will acquire aircraft maintenance support services for wing and site training devices, ground instructional training aircraft, historical/static display aircraft, and maintenance of the 80th Flying Training Wing.  At this time, the entire amount has been obligated.  AETC CONS/LGCK, Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, is the contracting activity (FA3002-1-C-0001).
                L3 Communications Integrated Systems, Greenville, Texas, was awarded an $8,250,535 contract which will acquire prime mission equipment programmed depot maintenance in support of the Peace Pioneer program.  At this time, the entire amount has been obligated.  ASC/WINK, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8620-08-G-3000; 0020).
                Lockheed Martin Corp., Fort Worth, Texas, was awarded a $7,926,738 contract modification which will procure the installation of a retrofit to add additional capability to the F-22 weapons and tactics trainers.  At this time, the entire amount has been obligated.  ASC/WWUK, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity.(FA8611-08-C-2897; PO0045).
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
                FirstEnergy Solutions Corp., Akron, Ohio, is being awarded a maximum $19,773,635 firm-fixed-price contract for electricity.  Other locations of performance are Catoctin Mountain Park and Fort Detrick.  Using services are Army and federal civilian agencies.  There were originally 91 proposals solicited with 16 responses.  The date of performance completion is Dec. 31, 2012.  The Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Va., is the contracting activity (SP0600-11-D-8006).
                Pierce Manufacturing, Inc., Appleton, Wis., is being awarded a maximum $13,319,696 firm-fixed-price contract for aerial firefighting vehicles.  There are no other locations of performance.  Using service is Army.  There were originally three proposals solicited with two responses.  The date of performance completion is June 25, 2011.  The Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity (SPM500-01-D-0062-0082).