Navy Infrastructure to Combat Cyber Threats Still a Work in Progress

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Rear Adm. Danelle Barrett began her May 8 presentation at Sea-Air-Space 2019 with a cost comparison. A Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier costs some $13 billion, she said. A troublemaker can build a capable hacking device that could disrupt systems on a Ford carrier and potentially every other U.S. Navy platform, for about $9.97.

Given that Navy
computers rely on the same off-the-shelf providers as industry and the bad guys,
Barrett described how she is doing what she can to ensure that data gets
delivered safely and quickly to who needs it, without fear of being encumbered
by attackers.

Navy ships have
“about 50 different systems” funneling data to commanding officers, Barrett
said, who in turn have a limited amount of random access memory “to figure out
what to do with all that.”

The Navy needs the
right infrastructure, with machines capable of using artificial intelligence
(AI) to sift through the stream of data and provide the most important facts.

As an example,
Barrett cited the considerations the carrier Abraham Lincoln’s commander and
crew would face when planning a trip through the Straits of Hormuz.

“Things are tense
with the Iranians. We want a safe transit,” Barrett said.

Every key player
on the Lincoln wants to know specifics relative to his or her own job, she
said.

“The navigator
needs to know, can I navigate safely through at [a given] course and speed. The
chief engineer wants … data on problems I might have with the plant. The
communications officer wants to make sure I don’t drive out of my satellite
footprint. The intel folks, those on tactical watch and battle watch, need it,
too. The last time [a carrier] went through, about 20 nautical miles away, Iranian
UAVs came over to harass the ship,” Barrett said.

The Navy does not
have this capability — to provide data and ensure security to the lowest
possible element later — today, Barrett said. She also pointed out that
mischief likely would not manifest itself as some bold and splashy operation.

Rather, “They
would mess with the data just a little bit … just enough to make you make a
really bad calculation,” Barrett said. “It’s not going to be noticeable if it’s
coming from a very sophisticated adversary.”

Barrett is
spearheading a course that would have the right systems in place as quickly as
possible. Stove-piping of approval for new systems, or delivery of data, will
not work for her. The process will use “stuff that industry is doing,
leveraging the exact same products,” and will provide interoperability. The
Navy must be able to get its hands on the next fastest thing, get it installed
and have it functioning — before enemies upgrade their own capabilities.

“The environment
to the left of the boom is going to get more complicated,” she said.

Already, ships are
inundated with data from scores of sensors in and under the surface and in the
air, she said. Soon, thousands of such devices are going to be funneling such
information. Managing the data, Barrett said, will require ensuring that its
quality is as good as it can be. Commanders should be able to get what they
need within, say, a two-hour window of their next major milestone.

“If I could do that today, I’d have a huge
operational advantage,” Barrett said. “It’s a tall order. But we’ll get there.”