ISSUES AND REQUIREMENTS FOR CYBERSECURITY IN NETWORK CENTRIC WARFARE

The transition to network centric warfare brings with it great promise for the effectiveness of future military operations. This promise arises from the capability for network centric warfare to empower individuals at all levels with vast amounts of relevant information and thereby lift the “fog of war. ” By achieving the promise, commanders will be able to effectively and efficiently employ their resources to achieve objectives; in addition, individuals can exploit information in real-time to increase their effectiveness in mission accomplishment and to capitalize upon transient opportunities in the battlespace. However, a central, but generally unspoken, tenet of network centric warfare is that the information received is actionable; i.e., that the information is timely and correct. However, the increasing sophistication of computer and network attack tools and technologies coupled with the increasing technical sophistication of potential adversaries calls this central tenet into question and raises the question of how to secure the network and software against the threat of attack and subversion. Clearly, network and application security, or cybersecurity, is a broad topic, but is of pressing importance if network centric warfare is to fulfill its potentia