The war in cyberspace

Saturday, Feb. 2, 2008 | 2 a.m.

Air Force officials are proudly training the next generation of warriors — those armed with a computer mouse — and they will find they are not alone.

The Air Force is the latest federal agency to roll out plans to step up efforts to collect intelligence and fight off attacks on the nation’s computer systems. The problem seems to be coordinating the nation’s efforts to do so.

Air Force Brig. Gen. Mark Schissler told USA Today this week the Air Force’s “cyberwarriors” will monitor how terrorists are using computers, gather intelligence and try to disrupt their plans and attacks. They will monitor the Internet, cell phones and other forms of electronic communication, including signals that trigger roadside bombs.

John Pike, director of GlobalSecurity.org, a clearinghouse of information about the nation’s military and security agencies, wondered whether this effort will overlap that of the National Security Agency, which already gathers vast amounts of electronic intelligence. Several other federal agencies are doing similar things, and the lack of coordination among them could undermine the country’s efforts.

For example, the Associated Press reported last week that the nation’s largest online war game was held in 2006, with several federal agencies participating, but none of the key players knew what a group called the National Cyber Response Coordination Group was supposed to be doing. The group is supposed to be the principal responder to computerized attacks on the United States, and while the participants were figuring that out, the online war was raging, with cyber “bullets” flying from all sides.

Protecting the computers that run much of the country’s information infrastructure is certainly a priority, but it does sound as if there are too many agencies going in too many directions. The federal government should reevaluate that and make sure everyone is working together.