Wing-Level Mission Assurance for a Cyber-Contested Environment

📖 The Scoop

Military systems and operations have become increasingly dependent on interconnected electronics and data. As that dependence grows, so too does the need for mission assurance in the face of adversarial operations through cyberspace. A key nexus for mission assurance lies at the organizational wing level (wings, deltas, and Air Operations Centers), where operational and support activities come together to produce Department of the Air Force missions. Wing-level organizations need to assure their missions despite cyber attacks, but current initiatives to empower wings to this end are in their infancy. The authors of this report recommend workable, effective strategies for how the Department of the Air Force can better organize, train, and equip to this end. They focus on four strategic lines of effort: to defend the wing's systems; to respond to and recover from cyber incidents; to maintain resiliency of the wing's missions when systems fail; and to maintain sufficient situational awareness to make decisions to accomplish defense, response and recovery, and resiliency. More specifically, the authors discuss tasks for each of these strategies and identify current deficiencies, along with potential remedies, in each task group. Not every task can be done at the wing level, but the wing will play key roles in each. The authors discuss which roles should be performed at the wing level and which should be performed elsewhere. They also offer recommendations regarding the best use and constitution of Mission Defense Teams (MDTs), whose goal is to assist wing-level commanders in maintaining mission assurance.

Genre: Business & Economics / Human Resources & Personnel Management (fancy, right?)