Pentagon to create new cyber command

WASHINGTON — The U.S. military is developing plans for a new cyber command at a Maryland Army facility to coordinate digital warfare, but difficult challenges lie ahead as federal agencies try to work with industry to protect critical computer networks nationwide, military officials said Tuesday.

Lt. Gen. Keith Alexander, director of the National Security Agency, said the U.S. is determined to lead the global effort to use computer technology to deter or defeat enemies, while still protecting the public's constitutional rights.

Alexander acknowledged that even as the military secures its networks, it is more likely that any major cyber attack would target industry such as the electrical grid rather than the Pentagon. Responding to such an attack, he said, would require broad coordination between the public and private sectors.

Speaking to the House Armed Services terrorism subcommittee, Alexander and other military leaders in cyber matters said the military is still struggling to keep up with rapidly changing technologies and to meet the services' needs for more resources and training. In blunt comments, Alexander acknowledged that cyber training for the Pentagon's work force is inadequate and must be improved.

Lt. Gen. William Shelton, the Air Force's chief of war-fighting integration, said the Pentagon relies heavily on industry efforts to respond to cyber threats. That approach, he said, does not keep pace with the threat.

The hearing comes as the Obama administration prepares to release its review of the nation's cyber security, and on the heels of a critical report by the National Research Council. The independent group's report concluded that the government's policies on how and when to wage cyber warfare are ill-formed, lack adequate oversight and require a broad public debate.

Alexander, the Pentagon's leading cyber warfare commander, said the White House review will help establish guidelines for how the federal government, including its military and intelligence agencies, will share information on cyber threats with industry — ranging from banks to utilities.

Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., the subcommittee's chairman, pressed the defense leaders for details on how federal agencies will work together and work with the corporate world to shore up vulnerabilities in the digital systems. "You're only as strong as your weakest link into the network," Smith said.