Military Cyber Operations Not Disclosed in Report to CongressJanuary 21, 2011
A recent written exchange between the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee and a Pentagon official revealed just how unsettled the rules are for how the military conducts cyber warfare campaigns. The exchange between the committee and the Pentagon’s assistant secretary for special operations, Michael Vickers, also raised questions about how the Defense Department would respond with force if the United States’ computer networks were attacked, according to an article in The Washington Post. The committee’s interest was a result of the Pentagon’s “failure to disclose cyber activities in a classified report on secret military actions” that is presented to Congress. The Senate is concerned over what oversight there should be for such operations, according to the article. The issue has come to light because the Senate asked the oversight question to Vickers, who has been nominated as undersecretary of defense for intelligence. Vickers responded by suggesting these new forms of high-tech operations are not specifically listed in the current law. Instead, the law calls for the disclosure of clandestine human intelligence activity, Vickers noted. This response only further highlighted how new cyber warfare operations remain outside the established oversight guidelines. Vickers did say, however, that if he were confirmed, he would study the reporting requirements and support providing more information in future reports. “It would be my intent, if confirmed, to fully comply with that responsibility, to include cyber activities,” he said. The exchange was part of the back-and-forth between the Senate and Vickers in preparation for his nomination hearing, which has yet to be scheduled. |
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