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GCN Home > 05/26/08 issue

Michael Peterson | Taking command in cyberspace

GCN Interview with Lt. Gen. Michael Peterson, the Air Force's chief information officer

By John Rendleman

Lt. Gen. Michael Peterson is chief information officer at the Air Force, and his mission is to forge the service’s computer and network systems into a unified global command-and-control platform known as Cyber Command.

As CIO and chief of warfighting integration, Peterson leads four directorates and four field operating agencies with a combined staff of 1,600 and a portfolio of command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets worth $17 billion.

He also formulates and administers the Air Force’s information technology and networking policies, strategy and doctrine.

He spoke with GCN recently about creating online demilitarized zones and other steps to thwart cyberattacks.
GCN: What is the status of Cyber Command? Peterson: We have made some significant strides in the past year. The whole vision was announced in 2005 [by] our current secretary, Michael Wynne, and our chief of staff, Gen. Michael Mosely, [who] directed that we stand up a separate major command.

So in 2005 to 2006, the planning work began, and [in 2007], we had a notion of what we wanted to do. In December 2007, Secretary Wynne signed the program management directive to stand up the Air Force Cyber Command and what it looked like. So by Oct. 1, 2008, we will have the initial operational capacity.

Many of the things in the Air Force Network Operations and Information Operations will be in Cyber Command, but our definition of cyberspace is much broader than that [and] includes electronic warfare. It includes directed energy so you will also see electronic warfare systems and the management and operations of the radio-frequency spectrum. It’s a pretty big portfolio that will unfold.

Lots of work is left to do so we have a provisional command in place right now to do the staff work, write the directives [and select a location] for the wings associated with Cyber Command’s headquarters. We need a provisional command to lead [the selection process], but it will be advised by or informed by all of the environmental laws and by our engineering teams. Before we put it anywhere, there has to be an environmental assessment, so doing it properly takes months.

More news on related topics: IT Security, Defense IT, IT Management



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