US Cyber Command using ISIS operations to hone combat skills
The online battle with ISIS is giving US Cyber Command a major opportunity to engage in digital combat. Speaking at a hearing last week, Cybercom’s deputy commander, Lieutenant-General Kevin McLaughlin told the House Armed Services Committee that his team had been able to engage “at scale” in support given the battle with Islamic extremists: “The war on ISIL is the first at scale opportunity to do that in support of US Central Command. In many cases this is the first actual live opportunity for these forces to conduct that type of mission.” The US is moving towards having a cyber team of 6,000 with a budget of $5bn. The hope among some is that Cyber Command will be at the heart of operations, reflecting fears over the rising cyber power and activities of countries such as China.

The United States military has revealed that its ongoing battle with ISIS has given Cyber Command its first major opportunity to engage in digital combat.

During a hearing this week, Cybercom deputy commander, Lt. Gen. Kevin McLaughlin told the House Armed Services Committee that the battle with Islamic extremists has given his team the first chance to engage “at scale” in support of US Central Command.

“The war on ISIL is the first at scale opportunity to do that in support of US Central Command. In many cases this is the first actual live opportunity for these forces to conduct that type of mission,” he claimed, according to military intelligence website Debka.

McLaughlin is hoping eventually to have 6000 troops budget of close to $5 billion at his disposal as the US starts to put cyber at the heart of its military capabilities.

In fact, Air Force Brig. Gen. Charles L. Moore Jr. told the same committee that there’s hardly a mission today that doesn’t include some kind of cyber capabilities, the DoD reported.

The department is currently building up its Cyber Mission Force, a new body tasked with cyber defense and deterrence against state actors.

“While significant progress in all these areas has been made in the last year, significant challenges do remain, to include equipping the force, establishing a persistent training environment that is responsive to the many layers of required training, recruiting and retaining a professional force and finalizing the command-and-control structure for the Cyber Mission Force,” he revealed.

The US would do well to build up its cyber capabilities given the huge investment China is putting into the same areas.

The Pentagon’s annual report to Congress in May said as much, claiming that Beijing views “information dominance” as a key strategic means to winning a military conflict in its early stages.

The report continued.

“The PLA would likely use Electronic Warfare, cyberspace operations (CO), and deception to augment counterspace and other kinetic operations during a wartime scenario to deny an adversary’s attainment and use of information. Chinese military writings describe informationized warfare as an asymmetric way to weaken an adversary’s ability to acquire, transmit, process, and use information during war and to force an adversary to capitulate before the onset of conflict.”