Richard Stiennon

“By tracing the early history of USCYBERCOM it is possible to understand some of the reasons why the military has focused almost completely on network defense and cyber attack while being unaware of the need to address the vulnerabilities in systems that could be exploited in future conflicts against technologically capable adversaries. It is a problem mirrored in most organizations. The network security staff are separate from the endpoint security staff who manage desktops through patch and vulnerability management tools and ensure that software and anti-virus signatures are up to date. Meanwhile, the development teams that create new applications, web services, and digital business ventures, work completely on their own with little concern for security. The analogous behavior observed in the military is the creation of new weapons systems, ISR platforms, precision targeting, and C2 capabilities without ensuring that they are resistant to the types of attacks that USCYBERCOM and the NSA have been researching and deploying. USCYBERCOM had its genesis in NCW thinking. First the military worked to participate in the information revolution by joining their networks together. Then it recognized the need for protecting those networks, now deemed cyberspace. The concept that a strong defense requires a strong offense, carried over from missile defense and Cold War strategies, led to a focus on network attack and less emphasis on improving resiliency of computing platforms and weapons systems.”
― Richard Stiennon, There Will Be Cyberwar: How The Move To Network-Centric Warfighting Has Set The Stage For Cyberwar

“If Windows had been designed from the beginning with security in mind, much of the course of history would have been changed. The multi-billion dollar industry of AV vendors would have never come about. Worms, viruses, spyware, and cybercrime would never have risen to further fuel the IT security industry.”
― Richard Stiennon, There Will Be Cyberwar: How The Move To Network-Centric Warfighting Has Set The Stage For Cyberwar