Why recovery speed matters when the homeland is the cyber battlefield

COMMENTARY | The cyber battlefield will continue to be the homeland, and defense agencies must continue adapting how they ensure mission continuity within it.

The homeland is now a frontline battlespace, with cyberattacks targeting essential services, critical infrastructure and military readiness.

According to Army Lt. General Jeth Rey, in cyber war, “the battlefield is already here in our daily lives – on our phones and smart devices, in our digital infrastructure, across the electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) and hovering unseen in our skies and beyond.”

Cyber recovery is an indicator of operational military strength, as U.S. forces recognize that breaches, disruptions and denial-of-service attacks are inevitable rather than a rare occurrence. Instead of aiming for prevention, defense agencies must adopt a military doctrine that emphasizes anticipating disruptions, absorbing cyberattacks and restoring mission-critical battlefield capabilities faster than exploitation. 

The always-on cyber battlefield 

Historically, personnel relegated network security to a back-office IT function, disconnected ...