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Is 2014 the year for Cyber Militias ?

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David Sweigert
David Sweigert

Is 2014 the year for Cyber Militias ? Examination of the Congressional mandate for the Pentagon to address the use of cyber militias in responding to cyber warfare. Is a network breach and act of war? Cybersecurity Description: Protecting against damage to, unauthorized use of, and/or malicious exploitation of (and, if needed, the restoration of) electronic communications systems and services (and the information contained therein). Cybersecurity activities ensure the security, reliability, integrity, and availability of critical information, records, and communications systems and services through collaborative cybersecurity initiatives and efforts. These activities also include procedures to detect malicious activity and to conduct technical and investigative-based countermeasures, mitigation activities, and operations against malicious actors to counter existing and emerging cyber-based threats, consistent with established protocols.

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Expanding the role of National Guard Cyber Units to support disaster response and recovery and make a Cyber Militia a reality January 2014 Author: Dave Sweigert, M.Sci., CISSP, CISA, PMP ABSTRACT Private organizations would be well advised to be aware of the involvement of National Guard cyber warfare units in responding to attacks on critical infrastructure. Increased interaction with Guard units may be appropriate for entities concerned with community-wide cyber resiliency. Background accomplish political objectives. The Chinese Eagle Union Hacker Group is one example of a “Cyber Militia”. This year the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) by the U.S. Congress (used to supply the Pentagon with another year’s budget) came with cybersecurity strings attached – the requirement for a comprehensive domestic cyber warfare assessment of how the National Guard would support defensive cyber warfare operations and support missions of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Attacks launched by such groups that breach network cybersecurity are classified as “cyber warfare” by the Pentagon. Doomsday scenarios predict everything from massive failures of the power grid to the destruction of medical data as a consequence of an act of cyber war by such groups, creating “cyber anxiety”. In sum, there is likely to be a new cybersecurity player in the Critical Infrastructure – Key Resources (CIKR) arena, the National Guard. Is this the creation of a Cyber Militia? Many observers have suggested that the language of the 2014 NDAA is a Dr. Strangelovian attempt to “close the cyber militia gap” and keep up with the creation of such militias in Russia, Iran, and North Korea. Cyber Militias: these are non-state sponsored collections of volunteers that can act in a militant offensive and defensive manner in cyber space. These groups can be loosely organized and operate with technical know-how to Cyber Warfare: Both the National Guard Bureau (NGB) and the National Governor’s Association (NGA) have openly endorsed the idea of Guard units engaged in civilian defensive cyber warfare operations. 1
Domestic Cyber Missions The Whole Community Approach to Preparedness promoted by Presidential Policy Directive 8 (PPD-8: National Preparedness) is a comprehensive and integrated approach to community preparedness for disasters – to include man made cyber events and their cascading consequences. Until now, the number of Guard units involved in civilian cybersecurity events could be counted with one hand. Examples: Prior to the 2010 Winter Olympics the network supporting Washington State’s Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) was assessed by a Guard cyber warfare unit. Networks supporting the 2012 Presidential Inauguration were protected by such units and State networks supporting Emergency Management (E.M.) activities have also been accessed by these groups. The increased interaction of public safety agencies and private entities with these National Guard cyber units in support of PPD-8 should be addressed by the Pentagon. Alignment of Guard cyber capabilities to jointly respond with other Whole Community partners in a realistic approach to a CIKR cyber event (and the associated potential downstream effects on public utilities, medical facilities, transportation arteries, etc.) should be planned for. Such activities fall within the National Prevention Framework “cybersecurity” category as a PROTECTION capability. With the desire of Congress to “close the gap” the scope of such support by Guard units in domestic cyber missions could be expanding. Cascading consequences created by a cyber event are addressed within the National Response Framework as a RESPONSE and RECOVERY activity. Joint planning would help define how these Guard units could more effectively interface with other response agencies during cyber events and disasters. This would give Congress the Cyber Militia capability they are searching. About the author: Dave Sweigert holds certifications as a Certified Information Systems Security Professional, Certified Information Systems Auditor, and Project Management Professional. He has earned Master’s degrees in Information Security and Project Management. An Air Force veteran, he is a practitioner of cybersecurity, incident management and CIKR protection. He has consulted to Kaiser Permanente, J2 Global, NASA and the U.S. Army. State Governors could certainly activate such units during man-made cyber disasters and to support response and recovery operations in natural disasters, as well as provide support to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security missions. However, only a handful of such states have these elite cyber warfare units. Integration with the Whole Community Concept 2

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Is 2014 the year for Cyber Militias ?

  • 1. Expanding the role of National Guard Cyber Units to support disaster response and recovery and make a Cyber Militia a reality January 2014 Author: Dave Sweigert, M.Sci., CISSP, CISA, PMP ABSTRACT Private organizations would be well advised to be aware of the involvement of National Guard cyber warfare units in responding to attacks on critical infrastructure. Increased interaction with Guard units may be appropriate for entities concerned with community-wide cyber resiliency. Background accomplish political objectives. The Chinese Eagle Union Hacker Group is one example of a “Cyber Militia”. This year the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) by the U.S. Congress (used to supply the Pentagon with another year’s budget) came with cybersecurity strings attached – the requirement for a comprehensive domestic cyber warfare assessment of how the National Guard would support defensive cyber warfare operations and support missions of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Attacks launched by such groups that breach network cybersecurity are classified as “cyber warfare” by the Pentagon. Doomsday scenarios predict everything from massive failures of the power grid to the destruction of medical data as a consequence of an act of cyber war by such groups, creating “cyber anxiety”. In sum, there is likely to be a new cybersecurity player in the Critical Infrastructure – Key Resources (CIKR) arena, the National Guard. Is this the creation of a Cyber Militia? Many observers have suggested that the language of the 2014 NDAA is a Dr. Strangelovian attempt to “close the cyber militia gap” and keep up with the creation of such militias in Russia, Iran, and North Korea. Cyber Militias: these are non-state sponsored collections of volunteers that can act in a militant offensive and defensive manner in cyber space. These groups can be loosely organized and operate with technical know-how to Cyber Warfare: Both the National Guard Bureau (NGB) and the National Governor’s Association (NGA) have openly endorsed the idea of Guard units engaged in civilian defensive cyber warfare operations. 1
  • 2. Domestic Cyber Missions The Whole Community Approach to Preparedness promoted by Presidential Policy Directive 8 (PPD-8: National Preparedness) is a comprehensive and integrated approach to community preparedness for disasters – to include man made cyber events and their cascading consequences. Until now, the number of Guard units involved in civilian cybersecurity events could be counted with one hand. Examples: Prior to the 2010 Winter Olympics the network supporting Washington State’s Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) was assessed by a Guard cyber warfare unit. Networks supporting the 2012 Presidential Inauguration were protected by such units and State networks supporting Emergency Management (E.M.) activities have also been accessed by these groups. The increased interaction of public safety agencies and private entities with these National Guard cyber units in support of PPD-8 should be addressed by the Pentagon. Alignment of Guard cyber capabilities to jointly respond with other Whole Community partners in a realistic approach to a CIKR cyber event (and the associated potential downstream effects on public utilities, medical facilities, transportation arteries, etc.) should be planned for. Such activities fall within the National Prevention Framework “cybersecurity” category as a PROTECTION capability. With the desire of Congress to “close the gap” the scope of such support by Guard units in domestic cyber missions could be expanding. Cascading consequences created by a cyber event are addressed within the National Response Framework as a RESPONSE and RECOVERY activity. Joint planning would help define how these Guard units could more effectively interface with other response agencies during cyber events and disasters. This would give Congress the Cyber Militia capability they are searching. About the author: Dave Sweigert holds certifications as a Certified Information Systems Security Professional, Certified Information Systems Auditor, and Project Management Professional. He has earned Master’s degrees in Information Security and Project Management. An Air Force veteran, he is a practitioner of cybersecurity, incident management and CIKR protection. He has consulted to Kaiser Permanente, J2 Global, NASA and the U.S. Army. State Governors could certainly activate such units during man-made cyber disasters and to support response and recovery operations in natural disasters, as well as provide support to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security missions. However, only a handful of such states have these elite cyber warfare units. Integration with the Whole Community Concept 2