By National Security Agency (NSA) Director Adm. Mike Rogers announced a $647 million request to be included in the proposed defense budget for FY ’18 in a hearing before the House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday.
Rogers detailed the growing responsibilities and efforts of the United States Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM), for which he also serves as commander, including increasing cyber manpower and building upon defensive and offensive capability and capacity.
“Hardly a day has gone by during my tenure at cyber command, that we have not seen at least one significant cyber security event occurring somewhere in the world,” Rogers said in his opening statement, where he discussed the 16% increase from FY ’17 in requested cyber defense spending for FY ’18.
The recent National Defense Authorization Act included a directive to elevate USCYBERCOM to unified combatant command status, where it’s goal will be to get all cyber teams to fully operational status by October 2018.
“Many have attained full operational capability (FOC), and I expect all of them will attain FOC status by October 1, 2018,” Rogers wrote in his prepared statement.
USCYBERCOM has identified its main concern as state-based actors, whose cyber attack activities have intensified in the last year, according to Rogers’ prepared statement. The command has seen instances of several states investing in military resources to mine Department of Defense (DoD) networks.
The DoD’s budget overview for FY 2018 also specified goals for its 133 Cyber Mission Forces (CMF), including the $4 million acquisition of a Persistent Cyber Training Environment for developing further cyber defense efforts.
Separately on Tuesday, at a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee Commanding General of the United States Army Cyber Command Lt. General Paul M. Nakasone described the effort to build upon cyber training efforts by establishing 21 cyber protection teams in places such as Adelphi, Md., Boston and Pittsburgh.
Commander of the U.S. Fleet Cyber Command Vice Admiral Michael M. Gilday added that there are further efforts being made to invest and establish cyber reserve teams in areas such as Silicon Valley and Austin, TX.
