US needs 'digital warfare force' 美国需要加强“数字化战争力量”

The head of America's National Security Agency says that America needs to build a digital warfare¹ force for the future, according to reports.

美国国家安全局首脑报道称，美国需要为将来建立一道数字化战争系统。

The US has set up specialised detachments dealing² with IT problems

Lt Gen Keith Alexander, who also heads the Pentagon's new Cyber Command, outlined his views in a report for the House Armed Services subcommittee.

In it, he stated that the US needed to reorganise its offensive and defensive³ cyber（电脑，网络） operations.

The general also said more resources and training were needed.

The report, part of which was outlined in an Associated Press news agency story, is due to be presented to the subcommittee（小组委员会） on Tuesday.

During the past six months, the Pentagon spent more than £67m ($100m) responding to and repairing damage from cyber attacks and other network problems.

Gen Keith Alexander's new department, to be based in Fort Meade in Maryland, will be part of the US Strategic Command - currently responsible for securing the US military's networks - and will work alongside the US Department of Homeland Security.

It is thought the new department would open in October and be at full strength in 2010.

The proposed digital warfare force would be based in Maryland

Self defence

A separate document, from the US Air Force's chief information officer Lt Gen William Shelton, said the US relies heavily on industry efforts to respond to cyber threats which, he says, "does not keep pace with the threat".

Peter Wood, operations chief with First Base Technologies and an expert in cyber-warfare, said that the US were entirely⁴ within their rights to protect themselves.

"My own view is that the only way to counteract⁵（抵消，阻碍） both criminal and espionage⁶ activity online is to be proactive（前瞻性的）. If the US is taking a formal approach to this, then that has to be a good thing.

"The Chinese are viewed as the source of a great many attacks on western infrastructure⁷ and, just recently, the US national grid⁸. If that is determined⁹ to be an organised attack, I would want to go and take down the source of those attacks," he said.

"The only problem is that the internet - by its very nature - has no borders and if the US takes on the mantle¹⁰（斗篷） of the world's police; that might not go down so well."

The submissions¹¹ to the House Armed Services subcommittee comes a few days after the National Research Council - part of the United States National Academy of Sciences - said that current US policies on cyber warfare are "ill-formed, lack adequate（足够的，充足的） oversight¹² and require a broad public debate".

The report went on to say that the "undeveloped and uncertain nature" of the US governments cyber warfare policies could lead to them being misused¹³ in a possible crisis.

The US administration is due imminently¹⁴ to publish the results of a 60-day review on cyber-security ordered by President Obama.