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"Within three years, the Pentagon\u2019s Cyber Command will deploy more than 100 teams focused predominantly on defending military networks rather than attacking adversaries\u2019 systems, according to Defense Department officials.\nThe department recently reorganized Cyber Command, which since 2010 has directed offensive and defensive operations in cyberspace, into three \u201Cmission forces.\u201D Two of those forces will engage in digital assaults, while the third will shield the dot-mil domain. The Washington Post first reported the organizational structure in late January.\nThe organization defending military networks \u2014 cyber protection forces \u2014 will comprise more than 60 teams, a Pentagon official said. The other two organizations \u2014 combat mission forces and national mission forces \u2014 will conduct offensive operations. National mission forces will employ 13 teams focused on securing U.S. private networks powering critical infrastructure such as transportation systems and other vital industries, the official said.\nAt a Senate Armed Forces hearing last Tuesday, Gen. Keith Alexander, head of Cyber Command, said the combat mission forces will include 27 teams and would \u201Csupport the combatant commands in their planning process for offensive cyber capabilities.\u201D\nPreparations are \u201Con track\u201D to stand up all three forces by September 2015 he said, crediting military service chiefs for pushing the formations.\nThe mix and number of service members, contractors and civilians in each team is still unknown. The military services have different cyber skill requirements \u2014 needs that have been complicated by a national talent shortage. And each service is working through the financial constraints of sequestration \u2014 blanket spending cuts that kicked in governmentwide on March 1.\nTraining is \u201Cthe key part\u201D of building up the teams, Alexander said.\nCyber offensive and defensive forces will be embedded within each geographic military command, Pentagon officials said in February.\nRegarding the national mission forces, Defense officials told Nextgov in January that those teams will be \u201Cprepared to conduct full spectrum cyber operations in order to mitigate threats to our nation and its critical infrastructure.\"\nDispatching cyber troops to U.S. networks has since raised questions about military overreach. A 2003 presidential directive stipulates that the Department of Homeland Security, not Defense, must play the primary role in any governmentwide effort to protect U.S. critical infrastructure. \nDuring last week\u2019s hearing, Alexander clarified the role of national mission forces: \u201CThis defend-the-nation team is not a defensive team. This is an offensive team.\u201D The Pentagon would deploy that offensive cadre if the nation were attacked in cyberspace, he added.\nAlexander works closely with DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano, he said. Alexander, Napolitano and FBI Director Robert Mueller \u201Call see eye to eye on the importance of cyber, of supporting each other in these cyber missions,\u201D he said.\nAlexander described Homeland Security officials as \u201Cthe lead for domestic cybersecurity\u201D and said they \u201Chelp protect federal networks and critical infrastructure.\u201D\nAlexander added, however, \u201CTo act quickly we must have clear lanes of responsibility and rules of engagement.\u201D\nImage of Gen. Keith Alexander via MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2013/03/20/pentagon-cyber-teams-2015/>