The Department of Defense needs to work closely with the Departments of Homeland Security and Energy in developing and implementing a national cyber defense strategy, according to Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick M. Shanahan.
Speaking Oct. 26 at the Military Reporters & Editors Conference, Shanahan told reporters that the Defense Department has already established a team of experts to work closely with DHS so that the two can share insight and tools for protecting critical infrastructure from exploitation.
“If you just do the, ‘Where are all the resources in the government?’ most of them are in the Department of Defense, but those tools and those techniques and that insight also applies to what’s going on with DHS,” Shanahan said.
Shanahan told reporters that the approach is modeled off of the United States Nuclear Posture Review — the legislation-mandated review undertaken by the Department of Defense that outlines U.S. nuclear policy, strategy, capabilities and force posture for the next five to 10 years.
“We did the first-ever Cyber Posture Review,” Shanahan said.
According to Shanahan, the same technique would work at the Energy Department, which is responsible for the U.S. electric grid, as well as oil and natural gas infrastructure.
“The way we’ve learned to work together is something we’re going to carry over to the Department of Energy so we can do the same thing with critical infrastructure,” Shanahan said.
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