Cyberspace is “the new frontier” and “the new threat vector,” the commander of US Pacific Command told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday. Adm. Harry Harris said PACOM has an organization called CyberPAC that deals with cybersecurity threats. It also has cyber mission teams. “This is new, but it’s a very real threat, not only to US military forces, but to America in general,” Harris said. Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, commander of US Forces Korea, said the cyber domain is particularly challenging in the Korean peninsula, “because North Korea also has a very deliberate goal of increasing their cyber capability.” US Forces in Korea have increased joint cyber center capabilities and now have a cyber mission team there, Scaparrotti said, adding that it is important the US and the Republic of Korea’s cyber teams “develop a much closer relationship.” The ROK-US alliance has a “unique vulnerability,” Scaparrotti said, “so we’re working hard as an alliance … to ensure that we’ve got a proper defense and a capability that we require with the domain.”
Amid NATO’s continued push to ramp up air defenses in Eastern Europe, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall swung by seven allied countries to boost relations last week, including those on Russia’s and Ukraine’s doorstep.