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On December 5, 2017 ... U.S. Air Force Major General Ed Wilson,
the deputy principal cyber advisor to the Secretary of Defense,
spoke to 98 participants from 51 countries ... as the keynote
speaker for the Program on Cyber Security Studies at the George C.
Marshall European Center for Security Studies, a German-American
international security and defense studies institute.
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December
5, 2017 - U.S. Air Force Major General Ed Wilson, deputy principal
cyber advisor to the Secretary of Defense, talks about the
importance of sharing best practices on the international front for
cybersecurity to 98 participants from 51 countries during the
Program on Cyber Security Studies at the George C. Marshall European
Center for Security Studies. (Marshall Center for Security
Studies photo by Karl-Heinz Wedhorn)
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Gen. Wilson stated that the scope, sophistication, pace and
spread of today’s cyber threats is unmatched in history.
COSTS OUTWEIGH POTENTIAL BENEFITS FOR ADVERSARIES
“We
must convince a potential adversary that the cost of conducting a
cyberattack outweigh any potential benefits,” said Wilson, who also
serves as the senior military advisor for cyber in the Office of the
Under Secretary of Defense for Policy at the Office of the Secretary
of Defense.
Wilson said the first step was to deny the adversary the ability
to achieve the objectives of a cyberattack.
“We do this by
strengthening our cyber defenses and reducing our attack surface,”
Wilson said. “Our adversary will begin to believe that any attack
will be futile.”
Wilson said the next step is to improve
resiliency.
“Even if any single attack is successful, we can
reconstitute quickly so that our adversary’s ultimate objective will
not be achieved,” he said. “And finally, we need to be prepared to
impose costs on an adversary, so he believes our ability to respond
to an attack will result in unacceptable costs imposed on them.”
These costs, said Wilson, can be imposed through a variety of
mechanisms, including economic sanctions, and law enforcement and
military action.
“Our task at DOD is to plan and prepare to
contribute military capabilities, if directed,” he said.
A
UNIQUE CYBERSECURITY PROGRAM
Founded in 2014, the three-week
Program on Cyber Security Studies helps participants appreciate the
nature and magnitude of today’s threats and develops a common
understanding of the best practices and current initiatives within
the public and private cyber sectors.
The Marshall Center
was designated in 2014 by DOD as a Center of Excellence for
Transnational Security Studies, due to its cybersecurity program, as
well as its courses on countering terrorism and organized crime.
“Our program is unique in that it targets global participants
from across the spectrum of governmental ministries for exposure to
a comprehensive, policy-focused, non-technical, cybersecurity
program,” said Professor Phil Lark, PCSS program director. “We
emphasize and teach senior key leaders how to best make informed
decisions on cyber policy, strategy and planning within the
framework of whole-of-government cooperation and approaches.”
BUILDING A BRIGHTER, MORE SECURE FUTURE
Wilson said that
the Marshall Center is the essence of what needs to be done on the
international front to build a brighter, more secure future.
“The Marshall Center is one of the key steps – a tremendous asset –
in building trust and confidence in each other,” he said.
Wilson added, “We have more than 50 countries’ key cyber
professionals represented here in this program right now who will be
sharing their best practices on how to develop the human capital
across the international front and ideas on how the larger, more
capable countries can assist the smaller ones to be able to bring
assets to bear against this problem."
“If we don't move in
that direction," he said, "I think we'll be displeased with the
results in two, five, and 10 years from now.”
By Christine June, George C. Marshall Center for Security Studies
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2018
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