The majority of missions performed by Joint Force Headquarters-Department of Defense Information Networks – U.S. Cyber Command’s defensive operational arm – are classified. JFHQ-DoDIN Commander, and Defense Information Systems Agency Director, Lt. Gen. Alan Lynn described the organization in the opening keynote address at the Defensive Cyber Operations Symposium in Baltimore June 13.
While JFHQ-DoDIN operators generally defend DoD networks, typically thought of as the unclassified and classified portions – NIPRNet and SIPRNet, respectively – the defensive cyber arm also protects networks associated with weapons systems.
Lynn offered that JFHQ-DoDIN secures ballistic missile defense networks, which given the threat of North Korea and Russia recently have borne out increasing importance.
DISA builds the war-fighting domain of cyberspace for the DoD, Lynn explained. With a longtime buildup over many, many years of different networks, who’s going back into the network and check to see that a specific network is secure? The JFHQ-DoDIN folks would be the ones to take on a mission like that, Lynn said, adding that they also go into cyberspace and make sure that network is completely secure.
Cyber protection teams have been assigned to the recently deployed Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, missile defense battery in Korea.
Mark Pomerleau is a reporter for C4ISRNET, covering information warfare and cyberspace.
