From a U.S. Cyber Command News Release
FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, Md., Nov. 12, 2014 – Joint and
coalition cyberspace forces completed Cyber Flag 15-1, a cyberspace
force-on-force training exercise fusing attack and defense across the full
spectrum of military operations in a closed network environment, at Nellis Air
Force Base, Nevada, Nov. 7, U.S. Cyber Command officials reported today.
As Cybercom’s premier exercise, Cyber Flag 15-1 evaluated
growing cyberspace capabilities within the Cyber Mission Force and joint
headquarters elements, advancing Cybercom commander and National Security
Agency and Central Security Service director, Navy Adm. Michael Rogers’ vision
of operationalizing and fully integrating cyberspace operations into other
military planning and operations.
Rogers has often emphasized that the Department of Defense
must build operational capacity in cyberspace to generate military options for
senior military leaders and decision makers. He has stressed that the U.S.
cannot wait until a cyberspace crisis affects the nation or DoD’s ability to
conduct military operations to develop partnerships, generate cyber capacity
and capability, and ensure coordination processes are in place for national or
military response.
Cyber Defense is Team Effort
“Cyber is a team effort, and given the resource constraints
and capacity shortfalls, we need to partner in a way that optimizes operational
outcomes. This exercise is an incredible opportunity to strengthen our
relationships with critical partners,” said Rogers, noting that relationships
are the key to success in the cyberspace domain.
The four main exercise objectives were to:
-- execute joint and coalition cyberspace operations that
were fully integrated with other combatant command air, land and sea operations;
-- identify, prioritize and defend key cyber terrain against
imminent or observed threats;
-- operate in a denied, manipulated or contested cyber
environment; and,
-- rehearse how a coalition will conduct command and control
of cyberspace forces at the tactical and operational levels in response to a
regional crisis.
The exercise has evolved each year since its inception in
2011 by incorporating more participants from across DoD, other federal
agencies, and allies in more sophisticated, realistic scenarios against
opposing forces. This year’s scenario, devised by exercise planners, involved a
simulated Combined Joint Task Force response to a notional regional crisis
involving fictional state and non-state actors conducting significant activity in
cyberspace.
Exercise Features Multiple Players
Teams from the Cyber Mission Force participated in the
exercise, including the Cyber National Mission Force, which is responsible for,
when ordered, the defense of U.S. critical infrastructure against sophisticated
cyberattacks of significance to national security; the Cyber Combat Mission
Force, which supports combatant commander requirements around the world; and
the Cyber Protection Force, which is responsible for the defense of DoD
information networks. Teams from allied nations brought comparable forces and
capabilities, and integrated with U.S. joint forces into the coalition
environment.
The exercise took place on a specially-constructed closed
network designed to simulate the DoD and allied information networks and
adversary networks. The event also featured an expert opposing force, which
takes on the role of the adversary, using a range of tactics and weapons to
provide a realistic training environment.
The opposing force simulated a range of cyberspace threat
actors, testing the readiness and dynamic response capability of the CMF teams.
Throughout the exercise, senior leadership stressed the importance of being
able to continue military operations in denied or contested environments,
fighting through degraded networks to achieve military objectives.
“The U.S. and allied participants dedicated a remarkable
level of effort to participate in Cyber Flag 15-1,” said Coast Guard Rear Adm.
Kevin Lunday, Cybercom’s director of exercises and training. “The coalition
exercise environment was vital to generating insights into how to achieve
military objectives by conducting operations in and through cyberspace. We will
use the lessons identified here to improve joint training, tactics and
readiness of the Cyber Mission Force as we continue to build capability and
capacity.”
In addition to testing command and control and meeting the
other objectives, the exercise provided the opportunity for CMF teams, Joint
Force Headquarters-Cyber for military services and Cyber National Mission Force
Headquarters to demonstrate proficiency in mission tasks established in joint
standards by U.S. Cyber Command.
Exercise Provides Tremendous Value
"Cyber Flag provided tremendous value for both the
cyber mission teams and their headquarters staff,” said Army Brig. Gen. Paul
Nakasone, commander of the Cyber National Mission Force. “It allowed the teams
to practice, build upon, and validate their individual and collective skill
sets. Likewise, it exercised headquarters staff elements to integrate and
synchronize their command-and-control and planning responsibilities.”
Nakasone continued, “Cyber Flag also reaffirmed our need for
a persistent training environment -- a world-class facility for on-location or
distributed training that includes a ‘hot’ [live] network, an active and
dedicated opposing forceadversary, and skilled assessors."
Through large training events and exercises like Cyber Flag,
or smaller events that could be made possible through a persistent training
environment, officials said DoD is learning how to better integrate operations
in cyberspace with other domains, how to better defend DoD networks from
attack, and how reliance on networks and technology creates both opportunity
and vulnerability for the U.S. and allies.
“The purpose of a military exercise is to learn,” Rogers
told participants. “Push the envelope, experiment, and take advantage of this
opportunity by embracing controlled failure for the learning potential it has.”
Posts
