Who runs cyber policy?
Whether it’s Chinese hackers breaking into the Gmail accounts of leading dissidents, or Russian hackers sniffing around the Pentagon, the cyber wars are heating up. Barack Obama entered office vowing to wage them more effectively than ever before.
“From now on, our digital infrastructure — the networks and computers we depend on every day — will be treated as they should be: as a strategic national asset,” Obama said in May, “Protecting this infrastructure will be a national security priority.”
So, is the United States finally getting its act together?
The short answer is yes, but there’s much more to be done, and the Obama administration’s first-year efforts have been undermined with infighting, sudden resignations, and some confusion about who is doing what. The administration has vastly increased the resources dedicated to cyber security, completed a full internal review, and moved to reform the bureaucracy. But there are still large gaps between the level of the threat and the government capability to meet it, as the actors inside the system jostle for positioning and power.
“This administration has paid more attention to the problem than any proceeding administration, but they’re just at the starting point so we’ll have to see how it all fits together,” said James Lewis, director of the Technology and Public Policy Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Any discussion of Obama era cyber policy has to begin with the Defense Department, the part of government with the most resources, the most vulnerable assets, and the most power and influence over the issue. Leading that effort politically is Deputy Secretary Bill Lynn, who is not well known as a “cyber guy” but has taken a personal interest in the issue and is extremely active. As the most senior government person with direct involvement, he gives DoD top cover and profile, and is also heavily involved in the creation of DOD’s new Cyber Command, which will be based at Fort Meade, the home of the National Security Agency, expected to open soon.
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