Pacific Command bolsters network defense with Cyber Defense Forces Pacific

A US cyber operator monitors multiple screens during an exercise. (Photo by Annette Riedl/Picture Alliance via Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has shipped some cyber operators from Maryland to sunny Hawaii in an effort to reinforce US Pacific Command’s technical defenses there under a concept called Cyber Defense Forces Pacific, according to a senior PACOM official.

Brig. Gen. Michael Smith, director for command, control, communications, computers and cyber at PACOM, told the TechNet Indo-Pacific Conference that the newcomers assigned to the Defense Information Systems Agency Pacific provide “a level of additional cybersecurity defense here in this theater.” DISA-Pacific is the regional field command of the Fort Meade-based organization.

“[I’m] really thankful for those folks because when they weren’t here, it’s just me,” he said at the event last week.

The personnel were drawn from the DoD’s Cyber Defense Command (DCDC), which is also based in Fort Meade in Maryland. The DCDC falls under US Cyber Command and is responsible for defending the Pentagon’s data networks.

Smith called the relocation to Hawaii of some servicemembers a “roll down” of DCDC personnel to PACOM’s area of responsibility, meant to “build out a more robust defender perspective with all the tools and assets to go with that.” The newly assigned personnel are trained to be adept at protecting information and responding to incidents, he said.

While Smith did not discuss any specific threats to PACOM networks, the command operates in the region with perhaps America’s most technically proficient adversary: China. Experts say that Beijing, for instance, has been caught targeting the networks of military critical infrastructure installations in Guam , a key US military installation, in an effort to cripple a Washington response to action in the region.

In the face of that and other threats in cyberspace, CYBERCOM has sought to increase cyber defense funding in the region in recent years.

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一名美国网络战队员在演习期间监控多个屏幕。（图片由 Annette Riedl/Picture Alliance 通过 Getty Images 提供）

华盛顿——据太平洋司令部一位高级官员透露，五角大楼已将一些网络作战人员从马里兰州派往阳光明媚的夏威夷，以加强美国太平洋司令部在当地的技术防御，这项行动被称为“太平洋网络防御部队”。

美国太平洋司令部指挥、控制、通信、计算机和网络安全主管迈克尔·史密斯准将告诉TechNet印太会议，新加入国防信息系统局太平洋分局的人员将“为该战区提供更高水平的网络安全防御”。国防信息系统局太平洋分局是位于米德堡的国防信息系统局的区域外勤指挥机构。

“我真的很感谢这些人，因为他们不在的时候，就只有我一个人了，”他上周在活动上说道。

这些人员来自美国国防部网络防御司令部（DCDC），该司令部也位于马里兰州米德堡。DCDC隶属于美国网络司令部，负责保护五角大楼的数据网络。

史密斯称，将部分军人调往夏威夷是将国防安全司令部（DCDC）人员“下放”至太平洋司令部（PACOM）责任区，目的是“构建更强大的防御体系，并配备相应的工具和资源”。他表示，新调派的人员接受过训练，能够熟练地保护信息和应对突发事件。

尽管史密斯没有提及太平洋司令部网络面临的任何具体威胁，但该司令部在该地区与美国技术实力最强的对手——中国——开展行动。专家指出，例如，北京方面曾被发现攻击关岛（美国的重要军事基地）的关键军事基础设施网络，试图削弱华盛顿对该地区行动的应对能力。

面对网络空间的这些威胁以及其他威胁，美国网络司令部近年来一直在寻求增加该地区的网络防御资金。

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