Cyber Defense a Cooperative Effort, Rogers Says

Navy Adm. Michael S. Rogers, the commander of U.S. Cyber Command, the director of the National Security Agency, and chief of the Central Security Service, delivers remarks at the Reagan National Defense Forum at The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., Nov. 15, 2014. The Reagan National Defense Forum brings together leaders and key stakeholders in the defense community -- including members of Congress, civilian officials and military leaders from the Defense Department and industry -- to address the health of U.S. national defense and stimulate discussions that promote policies that strengthen the U.S. military in the future. DoD photo by Kevin O'Brien 

Nov. 15, 2014 – By Claudette Roulo - DoD News

WASHINGTON - "Cyber blur" is an enormous challenge to those seeking to defend the nation's networks, Navy Adm. Michael S. Rogers, the National Security Agency’s director, said today.

At the Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, California, Rogers, who’s also commander of U.S. Cyber Command and chief of the Central Security Service, explained that network defense isn't an either-or proposition that can be neatly divided into public sector, private sector and national security responsibilities.

"This is the ultimate team sport," he said. "There is no single sector, there is no single element of this population, there is no single element within the government that has the total answer. It will take all of us working together to make this work."

The nation's adversaries don't hesitate to blend public and private capabilities in the cyber realm, either, he said.

"The biggest thing that concerns me ... in the immediate near term is we're taking capabilities, whether it be nation-states, groups or individuals, and I'm watching some of these blur and create partnerships that make attribution more difficult. They clearly are intended to try to stymie attribution as well as policy decisions on our part," Rogers said. "... This is going to require us to think a little differently."

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