[infowar.de] Vigilance Also Needed in 'Cyber Domain,' Says DoD Official

[Ralf Bendrath <bendrath -! - zedat - fu-berlin - de>]

Infowar.de, http://userpage.fu-berlin.de/~bendrath/liste.html
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Vigilance Also Needed in 'Cyber Domain,' Says DoD Official 
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Nov. 19, 2001 -- The World War II-era adage
"Loose Lips Sink Ships" underlined the peril of uttering
privileged defense information in public -- possibly within
earshot of enemy spies.

The United States today is engaged in a war against global
terrorism and the need to safeguard classified -- and even
unclassified -- information is especially acute over the
World Wide Web, the Defense Department's senior information
security official noted Nov. 9.

"I think every American today is being asked to be more
vigilant," said J. William Leonard, deputy assistant
secretary of defense for security and information
operations. "That vigilance needs to exist not only in the
physical domain, but in the 'cyber domain' as well."

DoD has myriad systems in place to mitigate possible
probing of information-rich conduits such as e-mail
traffic, Leonard remarked in an interview with the American
Forces Information Service. Nevertheless, he said,
information security is everyone's responsibility.

"The best eyes and ears we have out there are our service
men and women, civilians and family members," he said.

For example, military members, government civilians,
contractors, and family members should be suspicious of e-
mail that requests information about DoD operations,
Leonard said. All personnel, he added, should be aware of
the security impact of information in their business e-mail
and avoid including official information in personal e-
mails.

"They need to look from the perspective of a potential
adversary," Leonard said. Situations of concern, he
remarked, involve information that might have force
protection or operational capabilities implications.

People who suspect a breach of information security through
DoD e-mail traffic or Internet sites "should immediately
bring it to the attention of the appropriate person in
their command, to make sure it is looked at in that
context," he said.

Even unclassified information can be gathered and used by
America's enemies, Leonard noted.

"We're in an Information Age. Information is an asset in
and of itself," he noted. "Whether it is classified or
unclassified is immaterial."

Defense Department leaders and rank-and-file employees
alike have a responsibility to safeguard information,
Leonard said, just as DoD safeguards its technology, people
and equipment.

"The more eyes and ears we have out there exercising
vigilance -- to include in the cyber area -- the safer the
environment for all of us." he concluded.

##END#

200111193a.jpg  J. William Leonard, deputy assistant
secretary of defense for security and information
operations, uses a defense website to check out DoD-related
commercial press articles. Leonard said the need to
safeguard classified * and even unclassified * information
over the World Wide Web is especially acute during the war
against global terrorism. Photo by Gerry J. Gilmore. (Click
photo for screen-resolution image.)



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