A force of cyberwarriors protects Pentagon data

The responsibility for protecting the Pentagon's global information grid, composed of 12,000 networks and 5 million individual systems, rests with the Joint Task Force-Global Network Operations, an arm of the Strategic Command, or STRATCOM.

Task-force personnel work behind two banks of computers in a government building in Arlington, Va., keeping a 24/7 vigil. Spokesman Timothy Madden said threats cover "a large and diverse" range, and he acknowledged the perpetrators include "nation-states," which he declined to identify.

Two years after the 2001 terrorist attacks, the Bush administration developed a "National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace," which put the then-new Department of Homeland Security in charge of cyberprotection. The strategy has included development of the "Einstein" early-warning system to spot attacks on government computers, as well as public-private exercises known as "Cyber Storm."

The blueprint for the military is a classified document that includes both defensive and offensive measures, according to officials and analysts. Likely offensive tactics include disabling an enemy's command-and-control networks, destroying data or dispatching false information to weapons networks, often as part of a larger attack with air power and other traditional weaponry.

As an outgrowth of the strategy, Air Force leaders established a provisional cybercommand at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana and plan to develop a permanent command at an as-yet undesignated site on Oct. 1, 2008.

Maj. Gen. William Lord, who heads the provisional command and is leading the search for a site, said the headquarters will consist of about 500 personnel charged with training and coordinating cyber-activities within the Air Force. Lord said he's been contacted by congressional delegations from at least seven states, including California and Texas, who hope to land the command and its attendant economic benefits.

As many as 40,000 Air Force personnel are assigned to cybertasks, and Air Force officials envision an emerging breed of warrior who fights with a computer and keyboard. But he's expected to be as formidable as the soldier with a gun.

Dr. Lani Kass, special assistant to Gen. T. Michael Moseley, Air Force chief of staff, said at a recent seminar that Air Force cyberwarriors would be "trained killers" and "not a bunch of geeks."