Vanguard Magazine

22 APRIL/MAY 2019 www.vanguardcanada.com deFenCe PoLiCY (CCNSS) and National Security and In- telligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP). Strong, Secure, Engaged restates the im- portance of efforts in conventional areas to disrupt terrorist networks, prevent and counter terrorist financing, planning and communications, and detect and respond to threats by groups who promote vio- lent extremist ideologies. Acknowledging the reach of social media, IoT and other modes, a more 'borderless' view has been adopted, integrating cyber into multi- faceted approaches including online intel- ligence gathering, counter radicalization and community outreach. New Areas of Focus include Cyber In step with the needs of defence intel- ligence, cyber resources with exceptional capabilities and skills ensure secure intel- ligence-sharing across the Government of Canada and with allies. Improving the precision of military operations, all of CAF's national security initiatives rely on these resources as much as on the technol- ogy itself. Strong, Secure, Engaged plans for increased military, civilian and reserv- ist personnel who are dedicated to cyber functions and the creation of a CAF cyber operator occupation, bolstering advanced intelligence activities. Making the move to further profession- alize cyber occupations will be crucial and will seed the foundation for better perfor- mance measurement, standards adherence, skills transfer and the growth of other cy- ber-related skill sets that will serve CAF's future needs. Acquiring and retaining cy- ber resources in a competitive market that is experiencing a skills shortage will call for changes and improvements to recruiting processes and, likely, the organizational culture to compete with the private sector. Helping meet some of these resource and research and development requirements, the Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS) program will foster in- novation, incubate solution options, and bring together private sector, academics, industry and other partners to form collab- orative networks. Advanced research and development areas will include surveillance, cyber tools for defence and space, data ana- lytics and the human dimension (mental health and operational stress) to shore up growth areas that are crucial in CAF's suc- cess trajectory in defence. the Ubiquitous Cyber Domain Strong, Secure, Engaged envisions a future with a greater emphasis on developing and acquiring advanced and transforma- tive technologies – deep learning, machine learning, autonomous systems, artificial intelligence and quantum computing – and their multi-modal integration, in or- der to operate and compete in the new environment. While offering significant benefits to military operations and national security, these transformative technologies will bring unique challenges and risks, some not yet identified. Requiring assessment and mitigation to ensure security for sys- tems, equipment and intelligence and safety and ethical use for human assets, the challenges and risks will vary depending their development or acquisition source. Hinted at with the establishment of a Cyber Mission Assurance Program that will incorporate cyber security require- ments into the procurement process, both supply chain and third-party vendor/sup- plier security will need to be comprehen- sive and prioritized. The dual effort to streamline the procurement process will need to balance the cost and availability of services and equipment with security needs and policy objectives. Likewise, technologies that support and provide platforms for interactive col- laboration and testing and training – both internally and with partners – will require similar risk assessment. With the lateral integration of the cyber domain and its peripheral supports across military operations, it will continue to be an attractive target for potential adver- saries, state proxies and non-state actors already developing the means to exploit vulnerabilities, embed surveillance and re- connaissance activities, exfiltrate assets and disrupt command, control, communica- tions and intelligence transmission. An enormous but crucial undertaking, balancing the flexibility, agility and acces- sibility of cyber-enabled technology with the security to protect humans, assets and sensitive or special intelligence will require close and constant monitoring of networks, equipment and devices and frequent assess- ment of threats, vulnerabilities and security processes to prevent cyber espionage, dis- ruption of cyber operations and detection of ever-evolving attack types. A touch of the Grey Zone The reemergence of the grey zone and hy- brid warfare is attributed to vast changes to the international environment. More spe- cifically, close power rivalries are looking to tip the balance in their favour – especially revisionist nations – avoiding overt warfare, severe retribution or escalation. Strong, Secure, Engaged references the grey zone and hybrid warfare as a means to counter adversarial threats, primarily in the intel- ligence realm, "demanding a new under- standing of how and when to lawfully use or threaten to use military force in sup- port of diplomatic engagement to manage and shape conflict and international rela- tions…." While true, the grey zone and hybrid warfare, when adopted by an adversary, results in a formidable threat that requires sophisticated countering techniques in- volving intelligence, alliances and decisive- ness, all constrained by international laws and treaties for NATO allies. Employing hybrid warfare will be essential; founding these comprehensive countering capabili- ties, which are effective below traditional warfare and on unfair practices, will be a necessity.

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