A “dual hat” consolidation of the Department of Defense’s (DOD) cyber warfare operations will improve critical infrastructure resiliency while sharpening the Pentagon’s ability to preemptively eliminate cyber threats before they manifest, the deputy commander of U.S. Cyber Command said during a Senate Armed Forces Committee hearing on July 20.
The proposed permanent merger of the U.S. Cyber Command (USCC) commander and National Security Agency (NSA) director positions under one “dual-headed hat” is “in the best interests of the nation,” Air Force Lt. Gen. Timothy Haugh told senators.
“What it allows is the reality [that] the signals intelligence and the cyber environments are overlapping,” he said. “So, having a single leader with the ability to align the capabilities of NSA and Cyber Command gives us greater speed and agility” in a fashion “analogous to those of U.S. Special Operations Command.”
Lt. Gen. Haugh has been nominated by President Joe Biden to succeed the retiring Army Gen. Paul Nakasone in both posts. Gen. Nakasone has served concurrently as “temporary” NSA Director and USCC Central Security Service Commander for five years.
Under the proposed $886.3 billion Fiscal Year 2024 defense budget, referred to as the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), both posts would be permanently consolidated into one leadership position.
The proposed NDAA—the House adopted its version last week; the Senate is still debating—also provides the DOD’s cyber warriors with new assets and authorities in recognition that the nation is already embroiled in cyberspace combat, Lt. Gen. Haugh said.
The DOD’s cyber warfare chief “will now have the responsibility for a Cyber Mission Force budget, the responsibility for the acquisition of capabilities for our Cyber Mission Force, and have the authority to set the training standards” of Cyber Command operators in 30-50 person teams attached to every combatant command, he said.
Wanted: ‘Whiz Kid’ Warriors
That investment is key in responding to what Senate Armed Forces Committee Chair Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and ranking member, or lead Republican, Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) identified as Cyber Command’s biggest challenge: Lack of cyber warriors.“It is widely understood that our cyber mission forces are struggling with readiness shortfalls caused primarily by difficulties in training and retaining personnel in key positions requiring special skills,” Mr. Reed said, asking Lt. Gen. Haugh how he would incentivize private sector coordination with the DOD’s cyber warfare efforts.
Mr. Wicker said he was concerned “our cyber readiness may suffer because of Cyber Mission Forces serving brief tours” on temporary duty from all military branches who often arrive at Cyber Command “without necessary cyber skills, technical expertise, and training.”
Lt. Gen. Haugh said, under new authorities outlined in the proposed NDAA, Cyber Command can “set the investment in our training infrastructure, in our training courses, and allow the services to focus on recruiting with initial skills training aligned to our standard, and then to leverage the retention capabilities that Congress has given to the services. So those are areas now that really change the dynamic of how we will approach cyber readiness.”
Under the proposed defense budget, Cyber Command can “build out” its advanced training ranges and “have the resources to scale that up”—especially for the 80 percent of its workforce that is military.
Lt. Gen Haugh said Cyber Command is launching its own recruitment efforts in tandem with individual military branches to challenge youngsters interested in computer science to join a force that is right now waging a very real war against very real enemies doing very real damages in a virtual battleground.
“Whiz Kids,” he said, want to defend their nation, want to fight the bad guys in the dark net netherworld.
“It doesn’t hurt that quite a number of ‘Whiz Kids,’ who have been playing video games since they’ve been able to walk, are stepping forward,” said Lt. Gen. Haugh. “There’s certainly a population that is digital, that have grown up as ‘digital natives.’”
PRC, AI, Section 702
During the 110-minute confirmation hearing, Lt. Gen. Haugh was queried about the emerging role of artificial intelligence in cyber warfare and threats posed by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and an array of other “malignant ransomware actors” such as North Korea, “transnational” criminal cartels, and terrorist groups.Senators also asked him about lessons learned in Ukraine’s war with Russia and about renewing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) before it expires at year’s end.
“Section 702 is an irreplaceable foreign intelligence authority,” Lt. Gen. Haugh said. “It enables the intelligence community to collect against foreign persons overseas. It is a critical authority.”
Without Section 702 reauthorization, he said, Cyber Command would not have the ability “to identify foreign hacking of activities in the United States, whether that be of U.S. companies or individuals,” he said, noting he also supports “a rigorous set of oversight, both through personal accountability as well as technical accountability, to ensure that the authority is used appropriately for its intended purpose.”
Lt. Gen. Haugh said that, under his leadership, whatever privacy guardrails Congress wants to install in Section 702’s renewal will be vigorously adhered to.
“In terms of how we ensure oversight, first and foremost, and my experience in working with national security agencies throughout my career, is a culture of compliance,” he said.
“The National Security Agency and all of its employees are focused on how to protect their fellow Americans, and that includes their civil liberties.”
Mr. Wicker, noting that “the hearing comes at a pivotal moment for defending cyberspace,” said the outgoing Gen. Nakasone is warning that “the growth in cyber warfare capabilities by our near-peer adversaries like China is unlike anything he has seen before.”
He asked Lt. Gen. Haugh how he would counter Chinese cyberwar activities, which have been long-waged against the United States and Western interests.
“Throughout NSA’s history, it has learned the great value of partnerships, a lesson significantly reinforced by recent experiences in response to Russia’s unlawful invasion of Ukraine and initiatives to meet the near- and long-term challenges of the PRC,” he said. “NSA’s ability to work in collaboration across the interagency, the private sector, and foreign partners is one of the agency’s greatest strengths and critically important to our nation’s success in a world of accelerating change.”
If confirmed, Lt. Gen. Haugh said the best way to beat the PRC and other cyber threats at their own game is to ensure “the health and effectiveness of NSA and its world-class employees in delivering outcomes on national priorities, by delivering foreign intelligence, ensuring cybersecurity, protecting national security systems, and providing combat support to the Department of Defense.
“I will focus on strengthening the workforce,” he continued, “ensuring a culture of compliance, investing to leverage new technologies, and prioritizing threats facing the nation—especially the pacing challenge posed by the PRC.”
Of course, there is, indeed, a real “if” in the precursory “if confirmed” qualifier with Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) sustaining a months’-long stay on confirming Pentagon promotions in protest of the DOD’s abortion travel policy.
As of July 20, more than 650 command-level promotions have been stymied by Tuberville’s hold on confirmations—including, now, Lt. Gen. Haugh’s.
Mr. Reed opened the hearing by asking, for the record, that the committee “consider a list of 699 pending military nominations. Included in this list are the nominations of Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Jr., to be Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair and Gen. Randy George to be United States Army Chief of Staff.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) ended the hearing by lamenting that patriots like 31-year veteran Lt. Gen. Haugh “don’t deserve to be treated like a political football after dedicating decades of their lives” to the nation’s defense.
“I very much hope these nominations can move forward soon,” she said.
