The military is taking cyber warfare a lot more seriously
It starts with making sure Cyber Command has a better seat at the Department of Defense's table.
Following the rather embarrassing revelation that the Pentagon has no idea who'd be in charge in the event of a cyber attack comes word that the military is stepping up its cyber warfare game. So much so that cyber is joining the ranks of other combatant commands like those dedicated to specific regions (Pacific, Europe, Africa, Middle East) and those focusing on spec-ops, transportation and nuclear forces, according to Defense One. Currently, cyber warfare sits as a "sub-unified command" under the U.S. Strategic Command and this move would apparently make the group faster and aid in more successful missions.
As of now, the Cyber Command is operating in Mosul to attack ISIL communication infrastructure and command capabilities. The idea here is to give the military's cyber warriors the resources needed to take some of ISIS' preferred tools -- online communications -- away from the radical group.
Defense secretary Ash Carter says that he's been working toward bringing Cyber Command into different types of campaigns aside from counter-terrorism like space. "A couple of years ago, that would never have occurred to a secretary of defense," he says.
