Cyber Command up and running

You can say what you want about me, but you’d be lying if you claim my sense of timing is off.

Just when we’re about to hold a forum tomorrow on cyber security (yes, you’re invited), SecDef Bob Gates issued an order to establish a… yes, you guessed it… cyber command.

The Pentagon initiative will reshape the military’s efforts to protect networks from attacks by hackers, especially those from China and Russia. It also consolidates the largest concentration of cyber warriors and investigators in the government under one military command, exacerbating concerns of some experts who worry about military control of civilian computer systems.

The new command will at least initially be part of the Pentagon’s Strategic Command, which is responsible for computer-network security and other missions. The command is meant to begin working by October and to be fully operating by October 2010.

In announcing its creation, defense officials took pains to stress it would focus solely on military networks.

The NSA wants to up its annuall cyber class of new computer geeks to 200 (but I’m not sure how many they’re graduating now).  This is in addition to the 100 cyber nerds at the Department of Homeland Security, which wants to get to 260.  And what about the rest of the non-governmental internet (ie, most of it!)?  Who protects them?

Come tomorrow and find out.