On Jan. 13th, 2012, Jennifer Valentino-DeVries and Julia Angwin reported for the Wall Street Journal on recent comments by Gen. Keith Alexander, CyberComm/NSA head. The article quoted Gen. Alexander as comparing current US cyber-defense efforts to the Maginot Line. As a quick reminder, the Maginot Line was an impressive series of French fortifications designed to prevent a German invasion between WW1 and WW2. Of course, the Germans simply flanked the Maginot Line, making it a strategic failure. Gen. Alexander said that current businesses "put up a defensive perimeter and then we wait." According to the article, Gen. Alexander suggested that companies should "be actively scanning for signatures that might indicate new types of attacks."
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Along the same lines, Noah Shachtman reported for Wired and dryly noted that "military networks are 'not defensible,' says general who defends them." According to the article, Gen. Alexander said that DOD networks are currently "not defensible" due to the massive number of DOD enclaves. Moreover, Gen. Alexander reiterated that he has limited legal options if there is a major cyberattack on the US.
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