General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: You know what cracks me up...and I mean all the way the fuck up? [View all]2banon
(7,321 posts)Apart from conventional and nuclear threats, also from biological warfare to cyber-warfare, to space, environmental, oceanic security and beyond.
Even with regard to diseases such as typhoid, polio, and many other diseases, the Department of Defense was charged with developing vaccinations which became the standard requirement for children attending public schools throughout the 50's and 60's and current time. They know something about germ warfare. They have facilities creating deadly viruses, i'm not sure if they still exist at this time, I've lost track of those projects.
There's an array of fields one might be surprised to learn that the DOD has extensive knowledge and are involved in... but let's get right to this specific topic.
Given that DOD "invented" the internet and given that this component of the military infrastructure vital to their functionality as well as the security of the forces and every inch of infrastructure in this country with regard to energy/power grids etc one could safely presume they know something about cyber warfare as well. But don't take my word for it.
You could go to their website and learn more than you might have wanted to, or do a quick summary of their cyber security section over at Wikipedia but you might want to start here.
In the United States, the Bush Administration in January 2008, initiated the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative (CNCI). It introduced a differentiated approach, such as: identifying existing and emerging cybersecurity threats, finding and plugging existing cyber vulnerabilities, and apprehending actors that trying to gain access to secure federal information systems.[14] President Obama issued a declaration that the "cyber threat is one of the most serious economic and national security challenges we face as a nation" and that "America's economic prosperity in the 21st century will depend on cybersecurity."[15]
I hope this helps you get started on learning about the capabilities of the DOD.