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The United States and Canada already cooperate on a number of military and national security initiatives, including the war in Afghanistan. The two countries are now looking to extend that cooperation into the cyber arena.
Deputy Defense Secretary William J. Lynn III was in Canada yesterday to discuss increased cooperation in cyberspace between the United States and Canada. The cyber threat against the United States and Canada is growing, Lynn said.
“For most of our history, we have been shielded by geography ““ shielded by our oceans from attack,“ he said. “Those natural geographic defenses are of no use when it comes to cyber attack. The Internet can transmit malicious code in the blink of an eye.“
More than 100 foreign intelligence or military services are attempting to glean information from U.S. networks, Lynn added.
“Foreign militaries are developing offensive cyber capabilities, and some governments have the capacity to disrupt elements of the U.S. information grid,“ he said. “A shared approach, an alliance approach to cybersecurity is critical.“
The speed of the Internet also means that response times and decision making must also be done rapidly.
“To have the highest levels of protection, you want the widest set of allies so you understand and anticipate the broadest set of threats,“ Lynn said. “In the cyber arena, knowing who your adversary is, and what they“™ve done, is a key part of mounting an effective response.“
Cooperation on the international stage is vital to an effective cyber defense, according to Lynn.
“International cooperation is imperative for establishing the chain of events for an intrusion, and for quickly and decisively responding,” he said. “The reality is that we cannot defend our networks by ourselves. We need a shared defense.“
Lynn also pointed to some of the issues surrounding definitions in cyberspace and other hurdles making international agreement difficult.
“The laws of war are frankly imperfect when you address cybersecurity,“ he said. “How do you adapt them? How do you have appropriate constraints and rules and processes that people can agree on?“
Attribution, and what constitutes an attack in cyberspace, are other central concerns highlighted by Lynn.
“In the cyber area, if they are stealing data, is that an attack?,” he said. “What if they shut down certain websites, is that an attack? You get to loss of life and huge economic damage ““ that people would agree. And then what about countering? If you are not sure it“™s an attack and you can“™t attribute it, who do you go after?“
