Report: Radio Frequency Could Help DoD Protect Assets in Next-Gen Warfare

Officials of U.S. defense contractors have called on the Pentagon to expand capabilities to protect networks through radio frequency as adversaries may soon operate without the internet or become inaccessible through traditional, IP-based operations, FifthDomain reported Friday.

The military could conceivably only gain access to future adversaries using radio frequency, which will require expanded capabilities unlike missions with internet-connected systems that the U.S. Cyber Command already explored. 

“Many targets may not be connected to any external networks or may function on dedicated land networks, which does not present an insurmountable barrier but does require very extensive intelligence development to cross,” Austin Long, senior political scientist at the Rand Corp., wrote in the book, “Bytes, Bombs and Spies: The Strategic Dimensions of Offensive Cyber Operations."

Dean Clothier, director of cyber campaigns and resilience at Northrop Grumman, said the Pentagon should create a common interface standard to guide joint forces in cyber operations through electronic warfare platforms.

A Lockheed Martin executive said the company is working on attack access managers that could give access paths into specific closed target sets.