Intelligence community organizations must understand the type of information security services that will be necessary in this new networked environment, Gen. Minihan confirms. This approach deals directly with security services and how to provide an environment in which American citizens can trust the network. Right now, the Internet is just a big open party line. We need standards and specifications. This whole security area needs a strategic approach-the kind of agile thinking that went into federal, state and local civil defense measures after World War II, when the geopolitical situation dominated, Gen. Minihan cites as an example.
Information security is a much broader subject that relates to services in an open society.
The growth of the nontraditional or transnational actors, Gen. Minihan cites, coupled with the proliferation of the global information network, is creating an atmosphere where adversaries increasingly are difficult to define. This situation makes it harder to detect and assess threats. Among the megatrends he describes is the onslaught of technology and its development in web years as opposed to fiscal years-the accelerated pace of development. This creates a situation in which technology can change faster than the pace of normal fiscal planning and program execution, Gen. Minihan states. Another of the megatrends, he offers, is that the network will become as critical as electricity.