Changing the Organizational Culture

[Rob Thornton]

Quote:
The Defense Department is considering a policy that would banish all traffic not proven to be purely official DOD business from its networks, said Lt. Gen. Charles Croom, director of the Defense Information Systems Agency, last week at the Institute for Defense and Government Advancement’s Network Centric Warfare 2008 conference in Washington.

..
Unofficial early estimates, however, are that 70 percent of the traffic on DOD networks today is unofficial and would be banned, said sources close to the department.
I can't help but have that image of the insular cocoon show up in my head -

Are we so worried about our networks being compromised that we are willing to give up significant capability to inter-act with the rest of the world in the environment we're going to operate in? Are we going to limit our research and collection to officially approved sources? Are we going to quietly talk amongst ourselves behind the curtain - where no one can hear us disagree or tell us that anything we don't want to hear? How about the opportunity to draw on a broader segment of knowledge then available inside a room (however large we claim the room to be)? Are we going to create an insular culture that is afraid of engagement?

I know the pressure to protect our information (particularly our soldier's personal information) must be immense, but the idea of shutting the door and barring it is one I hope gets cut off at the ankles. The sad thing about it is you could show up for work one day, and bam! - you get the "cannot connect" or "unauthorized" diagnosis, with nothing else. My advice - there are some risks worth taking - this in no time (if there ever was one) to wrap ourselves in layers to avoid a risk, particularly when we have so much to gain, and so much to lose by doing so - ignoring the world will not change it, or make it go away.

We have good policies, and we have mature folks capable of making good decisions. We don't need a cyber Maginot Line.

Best, Rob

I wanted to add that this is one of those things where consequences of pursuing what appears to be the "low hanging" solution of insulating ourselves has a host of adverse consequences. One of the real indicators of the quality of our military that has emerged has been the superior discourse that has emerged on the questions and issues we face - by those who face them, and those who want to understand them. What's more is it has been able to involve non-military types - this creates involvment by the broader public and brings to light the issues surrounding the military and the use military force to achieve political objectives- its healthy for our democratic republic. I'd also add that is very healthy for our military (the republic's sword and shield) - we now have discussions which foster culture change and make us stronger and more capable of meeting our enemies. Who'd have thought we'd create conditions where the lowest soldier can interact with the most senior leaders in a tactful way, while at the same time including a broad segment of the civilian population. We've created real strength here - in ways I don't think we fully appreciate. To take that away in my opinion is the equivalent of a self inflicted gun shot wound.

Best, Rob