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Air Force Firewall Now Designated a Weapons System (gazette.com)

Posted by timothy on from the my-name-is-a-killing-word-now-pay-up dept.

An anonymous reader writes with a report from the Colorado Springs Gazette that the U.S. Air Force Space Command has declared its first cyber "weapons system" operational. The weapon, deemed fully operational this month, is basically a big firewall designed to protect the Air Force's internal 1 million-user network from hackers. It will be a hot topic at the Rocky Mountain Cyber Symposium, which is expected to draw hundreds of computer experts to The Broadmoor for a four-day confab starting Monday." More from the article about why a firewall would be called a weapon: The biggest reason for the weaponization push is financial: When it comes to budget battles, weapons, even those with a keyboard and a mouse, get cash from Congress. "Designating something as a weapons system really does help us justify our funding," Col. Pamela Wooley, who commands the Alabama-based 26th Cyberspace Operations Group, which includes the new weapon.

4 of 137 comments (clear)

  1. it's a "weapon". it gets funded. by turkeydance · · Score: 4, Insightful

    profit!

  2. Hack Back Attack AUTHORIZED! by brian.stinar · · Score: 5, Funny

    Unless this has some ridiculous hack-back-attack capabilities, complete with a nerdy looking airman typing as fast as humanly possible to "execute" the hack back attack, Congress may have to start looking a bit closer at these "weapons systems."

    We need more toilet paper for the bathroom.
    Here you go.
    WTF? Why does this toilet paper have pictures of guns on it?
    This is weaponized toilet paper. It helps with allocating funding...

  3. Obviously by penguinoid · · Score: 3, Informative

    weapon [wep-uh n]

    noun
    1. any instrument or device for use in attack or defense in combat, fighting, or war, as a sword, rifle, or cannon.
    2. anything used against an opponent, adversary, or victim:
    the deadly weapon of satire.
    3. Zoology. any part or organ serving for attack or defense, as claws, horns, teeth, or stings.

    It's no more surprising than storing weapons in an armory.

    --
    Don't waste your vote! Vote for whoever you want, unless you live in a swing state it won't matter anyways
  4. Firewall is a weapon system? GOOD by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Fair warning/full disclosure: I"m an Airmen in the USAF.

    A 'weapon system' is a special designation. Lots of things are weapon systems. A truck is a weapon system. Every weapon system gets a System Program Office (SPO) that is responsible for developing, managing, updating/upgrading/improving the weapon system. Weapon systems have full certification processes that the SPO oversees. Think change management on steroids.

    Want to modify the weapon system? Better clear it with the SPO. If you don't, it just became de-certified and you can't deploy it. If it were a plane, that would mean its grounded.

    Without knowing more details other than their is a weapon system that is a firewall, that would mean that the hardware and software gets certified before it is deployed (turned on/plugged in). Chances are there are standard configurations that are then mandated.

    This also means that its going to be heavily vetted. Chances are its not a commercial-off-the-shelf device., but if it is they'd be taking it apart looking for backdoors and other exploits.

    So personally I'm excited by this, but then I know what it means...