cybercom goes online today so the military can 'fight the net'

from democracy arsenal: Today, several Cyber Security experts including NSN Advisory Board member Richard Clarke, released the following memo on the launch of U.S Cyber Command, or USCYBERCOM:

"Beginning today, the U.S Cyber Command, or USCYBERCOM, is supposed to go online. But the Pentagon has not yet revealed what the scope of Cyber Command’s mission will be. Even in the most basic terms, we do not know whom the Cyber Command will defend nor what sorts of cyber threats they will defend against. For instance, in the event of a cyber attack on U.S. infrastructure, such as the electrical grid, would Cyber Command help to repel the attack? Or will the Cyber Command only be concerned with defending military networks from cyber attacks?

We do not know the answers to these critical questions and others because even basic information on the Cyber Command has not been released to the public. These are the publicly known facts about the Cyber Command:

* Cyber Command will exist as a subordinate, unified command under the Strategic Command.

* The head of Cyber Command will be the Director of the NSA (currently Lt. Gen. Keith Alexander), who will receive a promotion from 3-stars to 4-stars.

Anything else about the Cyber Command, its mission, and how it will execute its mission is conjecture at this point for anyone not privy to the discussion going on behind closed doors."

related: dhs will hire 1,000 more cybersecurity professionals
from fcw: The Homeland Security Department will hire up to 1,000 additional people to work in cybersecurity jobs over the next three years, senior DHS officials announced today. The new employees will be scattered across DHS agencies, and will work in areas such as cyber risk and strategic analysis, cyber incident response, vulnerability detection and assessment, intelligence and investigation and network and systems engineering, DHS said. The hiring authority comes from a joint effort between DHS, the Office of Personnel Management and the Office of Management and Budget, according to the department. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced the program in Washington at an event hosted by the National Cyber Security Alliance. Philip Reitinger, deputy undersecretary of DHS' National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD) that includes the National Cybersecurity Division (NCSD), joined Napolitano at the event. DHS is in charge of protecting the federal government’s civilian computer networks and leads efforts to work with industry to enhance cybersecurity.