[infowar.de] NORTHCOM, Homeland Defense, und Computer

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

Infowar.de, http://userpage.fu-berlin.de/~bendrath/liste.html
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http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2003/0303/web-kellogg-03-05-03.asp

Kellogg describes cyber battlefield

By Dan Caterinicchia 
March 5, 2003

The war on terrorism is being fought not only in places such as
Afghanistan and Pakistan, but also on a cyber battlefield where
terrorists are using information technology to their advantage.

However, the Defense Department is also using IT and is attempting to
"connect the dots" before the next attack is carried out, according to
one member of the Joint Staff.

Army Lt. Gen. Joseph Kellogg Jr., director of command, control,
communications and computers for the Joint Staff, said the cryptology
being used by terrorists to protect their data and communications is
as good, if not better, than DOD's solutions.

He added that terrorists also have the capability to use steganography
to pass instructions and other information. Steganography involves
hiding a message or image within another image, a sound file (or
musical composition) or some other unlikely document location.

"They are hiding stuff in pictures and embedding them in places we
can't get to...like porn sites," Kellogg said during a March 5 panel
at the Homeland and Global Security Summit in Washington, D.C.

DOD also is leveraging IT to "connect the dots" to ensure that there
is never a repeat of the type of terrorist attacks that occurred Sept.  
11, 2001, he said. "The best counter in asymmetric war is information
and how you use it."

Asymmetric warfare is any means by which a generally inferior force
can gain advantage over mightier opponents. On the asymmetric
battlefield, Kellogg said, "The primary [thing terrorists] are using
to their advantage is information technology."

In an interview with FCW, Kellogg made clear that no DOD personnel are
accessing porn sites looking for hidden terrorist messages. But he
added that other government agencies and organizations are able to do
it and that DOD would use and act on any "legally vetted information"  
that is uncovered.

Kellogg also said that last week's capture of al Qaeda operations
chief Khalid Shaikh Mohammed was significant not only because he is in
custody and can be interrogated, but also because "they got his
computers," and even deleted files may hold valuable information for
DOD and intelligence agencies.

Northern Command (Northcom), which is responsible for ensuring
homeland defense capabilities and supporting civilian authorities when
directed by the president or secretary of Defense, doesn't yet have
the integrated battle command capabilities of its fellow worldwide DOD
combatant commands, but IT solutions are starting to make it happen,
Kellogg said.

He added that Northcom must share information with all of the military
services and DOD agencies as well as federal agencies and state and
local law enforcement and first responders, which makes the task even
harder.

Northcom will have about 600 people at its headquarters at Peterson
Air Force Base, Colorado Springs, Colo., when it achieves full
operational capability Oct. 1, said Air Force Brig. Gen. Lloyd Dodd,
the command's chief surgeon. He added that as of last week, the
headquarters staff included 258 people.

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