The U.S. Air Force has formed a cybersecurity task force, a move Gen. Mark Welsh said is designed to understand the “inherent risks within the cyberspace domain.â€Welsh, Air Force chief of staff, signed a memorandum on March 20 that authorizes the Task Force Cyber Secure group with the goal of addressing cyber “synchronization, operations and governance” challenges within the service and its organizations, the Air Force said Tuesday.
Pete Kim, acting director of cyberspace operations and warfighting integration, will oversee the task force’s operations and provide direction to the Air Force’s cyberspace stakeholders.
Lt. Gen. Bill Bender, secretary of the Air Force chief of information dominance and chief information officer, said the task force would analyze cyber threats and vulnerabilities that affect the service’s core missions.
He added that the group would also develop a risk management plan to aid the Air Force in its cyber operations and submit investment recommendations to the Air Force’s secretary and chief of staff.
“The Air Force focuses the majority of the cybersecurity effort on protecting the information technology we’ve always protected the last 20 years, but that’s only 20 percent of the problem,†Bender said.
The goal is to have a “comprehensive, enterprise-level look at the cyber threat as it relates to everything outside of that 20 percent,” he added.
The task force will also help the Air Force inform its future strategic plans and programs beginning in fiscal year 2017.
