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Meade picked for new cyber security commandJun 26, 2009 (The Capital - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The Pentagon wants Fort George G. Meade to be the new home of a new military command devoted to protecting the nation's computer networks, a move that would further cement the Army post's reputation as a technology epicenter. Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates this week announced the formation of a new U.S. Cyber Command to defend the nation's computer-related communications and attack enemy nations' systems. "This command will lead, integrate and coordinate the day-to-day defense, protection and operation of the Department of Defense's networks," said Lt. Col. Eric Butterbaugh, a Pentagon spokesman. Fort George G. Meade is the "preferred location" for the new organization, Butterbaugh said. Initial work could begin as soon as October, and the Cyber Command is expected to be fully operational two years after that. Fort Meade is already preparing for a massive increase in the number of people employed by the various organizations there. The Base Realignment and Closure process will send about 5,700 jobs there and expansions at the National Security Agency will add another 4,000, while private offices and the expansion of other military departments will bring the grand total to about 22,000 new jobs in the next six years. Butterbaugh said it is currently unknown if the cyber center will bring even more jobs. Fort Meade already is home to one of the military's most secretive and advanced organizations, NSA, and is preparing for the arrival of another information technology heavyweight, the Defense Information Systems Agency. "This just amplifies the tremendous technological growth that we have going on in west Anne Arundel County," said Claire Louder, executive director of the West Anne Arundel County Chamber of Commerce. Like military installations across the nation, Fort Meade has seen defense contractors move into its shadow. Many of these companies test their own security systems by trying to hack into them, finding weaknesses and then improving them, Louder said. "This isn't the kind of work they go out and brag about, but many of the defense companies in Anne Arundel County do this kind of work," she said. "This is, of course, the quiet side of the Defense Department." President Barack Obama has stressed the importance of cyber security for the economy and national defense. In February he directed national and homeland security advisers to assess the country's cyber security capabilities. And late last month he announced a new White House position -- commonly called the "cyber czar" -- to make sure that the nation is prepared to deflect and wage digital attacks. "It's now clear this cyber threat is one of the most serious economic and national security challenges we face as a nation," Obama said. "It's also clear that we're not as prepared as we should be, as a government or as a country. "In recent years, some progress has been made at the federal level. But just as we failed in the past to invest in our physical infrastructure -- our roads, our bridges and rails -- we failed to invest in the security of our digital infrastructure." To see more of The Capital or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.hometownannapolis.com. Copyright (c) 2009, The Capital, Annapolis, Md. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |