The Joint Chiefs of Staff has now included cybersecurity under the survivability key performance parameter for the acquisition of new defense technologies with embedded computing systems, Breaking Defense reported Tuesday.
Sydney Freedberg Jr. writes that JCS made this move in an effort to help prepare the Defense Department for the Internet of Things.
“Whether the computer is on a desk or in a medical device or in the engine of a jet airplane, that computer has to be designed to be as resistant to attack as possible, it has to be configured securely every second, [and] it’s got to be able to be updated as quickly as possible,” Richard Hale, deputy chief information officer for cybersecurity at DoD, told the publication.
Hale added that JCS worked with Pentagon acquisition chief Frank Kendall to develop the cybersecurity guidebook for procurement programs.
DoD is working to build dynamic defense tools that protect its infrastructure not only from infiltration but also reconnaissance, disrupt the attack process and use multiple layers of encryption.
The department also aims to build on zoning, customization and reconfiguration functions for its network security and develop systems that can maneuver through IoT as a potential defense domain, the report said.
