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Aerospace Daily & Defense Report
September 27, 2007
NGA Chief Says Cyberspace Intel Faces Growing Security Threat
The U.S. cyberspace intelligence network is battling a growing threat to
its cyberspace assets, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA)
Director Vice Adm. Robert Murrett says.
"The trend is real," Murrett said Sept. 26 during a breakfast roundtable
briefing with defense reporters in Washington. "It is significant," he
added, saying the intelligence community has to tackle the issue "with an
increasing sense of urgency."
But the concern is not just that of the intelligence, defense or even
government communities. "It's not just an intelligence issue," he said.
"It's just as important on Wall Street."
More than that, Murrett said, it is becoming more difficult to protect
cyber-related assets from attack, hacking or other interruptions, test the
ability of the agency and others to protect their security, and at the same
time collect and disseminate the necessary intelligence.
"The sophistication of adversaries coming after our networks is increasing
every single minute of every single day," he said.
The concern has been more intense lately. "Everyone's been hit," he said. A
"hit" could be anything from a major assault to a relatively young
civilian's interest in finding out what might be available on the
intelligence community's cyber networks, Murrett said.
Murrett would not deny that full-scale attacks, even state-sponsored ones,
are occurring. "People are attempting to do these kinds of things," he
said.
Addressing a more blatantly visible threat to U.S. space sources, Murrett
said China's anti-satellite tests show the potential vulnerability of a
variety of platforms.
"They show the importance of having a broader architecture," he said. For
example, the NGA should not rely too heavily on space assets and use
airborne and other commercial ones. The agency and its customers should be
neutral in terms of where the information comes from, he said.
-- Michael Fabey