a commander's
aide-de-memoire
16 DECEMBER 2018/JANUARY 2019 www.vanguardcanada.com
DCO anD me
BY NICHOLAS SCHEURkOGEL
cYBer
C
yber defensive and offensive
operations are now a recog-
nized component of the de-
fence and warfighting land-
scape, with some countries
choosing to elevate cyber to be an op-
erational environment on par with Land,
Sea, and Air. As investment into this new
domain continues, organization will focus
efforts on advanced technical capabili-
ties and training an expert work force, as
they are fundamental to successful opera-
tions. The next tactical bound for a fully
mature cyber capability is to achieve delib-
erate synchronization of cyber operations
across the many supported and supporting
functions. At the centre of any synchroni-
zation efforts are commanders and senior
decision makers (hereafter referred to ge-
nerically as commanders) that understand
their role and act to force the necessary
synchronization.
The logical question from any com-
mander wanting to be this forcing function
is "Where do I start?" This article will dis-
cuss key points for planning that will help
enable today's commanders and command
staff to be effective, as well as some pitfalls
to avoid. This discussion will be limited to
Defensive Cyber Operations (DCO), or
enabling mission success by countering the
adversary use of cyber tools, and highlight
what can be done to enable it. (Specific rec-
ommendations to commanders have been
italicized.)
As the DCO community matures and
evolves, commanders and their operation-
al staff must also invest in evolving their
processes and perspectives to account for
cyber threats, integrate cyber into opera-
tional planning and execution activities as
a core element, and generally prepare to
make effective decisions in relation to
their mission or area of responsibility.
The fundamental responsibility to ensure
that DCO capabilities and operations are
aligned within a given mission rests with
the individual responsible for that mis-
sion–the commander–who will need to
provide guidance and direction supported
by specialist advice.
IT security and cyber defence commu-
nities do not usually succeed in setting up
commanders for success in providing guid-
