The belief that Air Force networks can be protected by preventing the enemy from penetrating them is an idea no longer viable, the service’s chief information officer said Thursday. “The ‘Maginot Line’ defense of protecting the network, quite frankly, is a ship that has sailed,” said Lt. Gen. William Lord, during an Air Force Association-sponsored Air Force Breakfast Series presentation in Arlington, Va. Instead, Lord said, “We now need to talk about operating a network in which the enemy is already [present].” That requires a defense in depth, with the ability to fight through attacks and keep the networks up and running so that they can continue to support the joint force, he said. Already today the Air Force’s networks experience, on a daily basis, between a hundred thousand and—”on bad days”—a million attempted penetrations, he said.
Multiple U.S. Air Force F-15 fighters have deployed to the strategic outpost of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean to protect the myriad of assets deployed there, including strategic bombers.