March 5, 2015
Cyber attacks on U.S. weapons programs and manufacturers are a “pervasive” problem that requires greater attention, the top U.S. arms buyer said Thursday, saying that he would add cybersecurity to new acquisition guidelines for the industry.
“It’s about the security of our weapons systems themselves and everything that touches them. It’s a pervasive problem and I think we have to pay a lot more attention to it,” Defense Undersecretary Frank Kendall told Reuters after a a speech to the American Society of Naval Engineers in Washington.
Kendall said he planned to add cybersecurity to the next phase of his “better buying power” initiative, and was also working on a special section on cybersecurity requirements to be added to the Pentagon’s guideline for buying weapons systems.