News From USJFCOM: Project results lay path for cyberspace operations

Project results lay path for cyberspace operations

A cyberspace operations project recently completed by a team from U.S. Joint Forces Command's Joint Concept Development and Experimentation Directorate delivered several documents which will help shape the future of joint cyberspace operations.

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By Jacob Boyer
USJFCOM Public Affairs

(SUFFOLK, Va. – Jan. 28, 2010) – A team from U.S. Joint Forces Command’s (USJFCOM) Joint Concept Development and Experimentation Directorate (J9) recently completed a project focused on improving joint commanders’ ability to conduct cyberspace operations.

The cyberspace operations (CO) project focused on experimenting with concepts and capabilities to support joint force CO, a fairly new discipline with limited doctrine, said Army Maj. Albert M. Costello, project lead.

“There’s not a whole lot of doctrine out there,” he said. “This was an experiment to begin figuring out what ‘right’ looks like.”

Navy Rear Adm. Dan Davenport, J9 director, said the project gave commanders valuable tools they can use when planning and operating in cyberspace.

“The USJFCOM cyberspace operations project addressed the joint force commander's requirement for an integrated, synchronized approach to conducting offensive and defensive operations within the cyberspace domain and the information environment," he said. "We did this through creating a crisis action planning template, accurately forecasting future operational-level offensive manpower requirements and creating a better network defense through recommending changes in established cyberspace operations, policies and authorities.

"In the CO world, just like in most other types of warfare we and our allies face today, we face a constantly adapting adversary," Davenport said. "For this project, we have delivered a set of focused, classified products designed to help our forces deal with this challenge."

Costello said the work his branch finished is important, because even small attacks in cyberspace can have immediate, far-ranging effects.

The National Military Strategy for CO Implementation Plan tasked USJFCOM with incorporating CO into joint experimentation. This plan and warfighter challenges delivered by U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) and the Air Force helped develop the project, according to Costello.

He said the team developed concepts and used different experimentation techniques to execute the CO project. Wargaming, limited objective experiments and computer modeling and simulations replicating real-world scenarios identified what can work, and why, in joint force CO.

Several classified products were developed to assist commanders and the doctrinal community as cyberspace challenges and threats evolve, including:

• A planning template and guide that provides joint force planners the framework necessary to integrate CO into joint operational planning for both crisis response and deliberate plans

• A manning model to understand manning requirements for offensive operations in support of combatant commands

• A guide that provides a framework for planners to improve understanding of the operational environment

• The Cyber Defense Limited Objective Experiment identified changes to improve computer network defense response action processes and the introduction and use of evolving technical tools.

Although the project is complete, Davenport said he expects more work to be done in the future.

"Our work in this area has already produced practical tools for the cyberspace community to use,” he said. “We know there is ongoing interest in this topic across DoD and we anticipate follow-on work with a variety of partners."