Pentagon deploys cyber specialists to Hawaii to protect networks — Breaking Defense

The Pentagon has sent part of the personnel of the U.S. Department of Defense Cyber Defense Command (DCDC) to Hawaii to strengthen the technical protection of the networks of the U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM). The new approach has been named Cyber Defense Forces Pacific.

Specialists assigned to DISA-Pacific

The newly arrived service members were assigned to the Pacific unit of the U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency, DISA-Pacific. As Breaking Defense reports, it is a regional field command of the organization based at Fort Meade, Maryland.

PACOM’s director for command, control, communications, computers and cyberspace, Brig. Gen. Michael Smith, said at the TechNet Indo-Pacific conference that the additional personnel provide an extra layer of cyber defense in the region. According to him, moving DCDC personnel into the command’s area of responsibility is intended to strengthen defensive capabilities by providing them with the necessary tools and resources.

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Network protection and incident response

The newly assigned service members are trained to protect information and respond to incidents. DCDC is part of U.S. Cyber Command and is responsible for protecting the Pentagon’s data transmission networks.

Smith did not specify particular threats to PACOM’s networks. At the same time, the publication notes that China operates in the region and is considered by experts to be one of the United States’ most technically capable adversaries. According to experts’ estimates, Beijing had targeted the networks of critical military infrastructure facilities on Guam. U.S. Cyber Command has also sought in recent years to increase funding for cyber defense in the region.