February / March 2012 - Navy
By Ashley Gatewood

Keeping cyberspace secure may seem like an impossibly daunting task––but, for the Navy, it is a crucial one. AUSN held a Navy Now Forum series to address this timely topic which has serious implications in today’s Navy. Rear Admiral William E. Leigher, Director of Program Integration for Information Dominance (OPNAV N2/N6F) was the event’s guest speaker and addressed the Navy Now Forum audience at Washington, DC’s, Ronald Reagan Building on November 17th.

After an introduction from AUSN’s President, RADM Timothy Moon, Rear Admiral Leigher took the podium to discuss what cyberspace means to him and its affect on intelligence. With the majority of his naval career spent in naval communications, Rear Admiral Leigher is an expert and close observer of how the rise and proliferation of cyberspace has impacted, and will continue to impact, security.

After pointing out that nearly everyone in the audience had a personal electronic device within arm’s reach, he noted, “Our devices allow us to enter cyberspace from almost anyplace on the planet. That’s the piece that’s the challenge for me right now––to secure so that we can use these smart devices in our environment.”

Rear Admiral Leigher spoke about the three major factors that make cyberspace unique over other platforms. Firstly, we attack and defend on the same platform where our adversaries attack and defend. Next, industry drives the domain more than the platform domains. Lastly is the speed at which a weapon can change and how robust its capabilities can become in a short time. For instance, in cyberspace, a weapon’s capabilities can be enhanced in a matter of months instead of years for more traditional weapons.

He also touched upon the challenges that arise when the Navy uses technology from the commercial sector.

Because defense is a niche market for the devices, the manufacturers aren’t necessarily keen to make them to the defense sector’s standards. The issue then becomes how to use commercial sector technology but ensure it is properly adapted for the Navy’s use.

In closing, he brought the discussion full circle back to a statement he made earlier in his presentation regarding the role communications play in command control, “If we can’t assure command control in the Navy, we’re not going to be effective.”