BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE.

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BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. -- Bulwark pleader (BD06), a joint service exercise for Information Assurance and computer network defense (CND) conclud here in mid-March following couple weeks of robust activities to train and evaluate Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps network defense forces upon the latest network threats and security tactics.

The Air Force l efforts to plan the exercise, with oversight from U Strategic Command and the Joint Staff, and the support of the National Security Agency (NSA) and Defense Information theorys Agency. BD06 demonstrated the ability of the Services and their respective network operations and security center to jointly shield and defend Department of Defense networks and decisively answer to potential attacks.

The Joint Exercise govern Center here orchestrated a series of intense threat scenarios, confirming the effectiveness of collaboration for NetOps command and superintendence common awareness of threat activities, and responsive defense The scenarios also validated the succes of intrusion detection and prevention theorys as part of an integrated network defense-in-depth capability.

"This was an superior opportunity to exercise strategic-level NetOps tactics, techniques and processs with a tactical context," said Col Gary McAlum, director of operations for Joint Task Force--Global Network Operations. "Bulwark champion emphasized the necessity for near-real-time collaboration in dealing with incidents at base flush that can quickly have implications across the global information grid. of long date stove-pipe reporting processes just don't chisel it in this battlespace."

Col Todd Day, chief of plans and exercises for U Army Forces Strategic Command, described the Army's experience in the exercise.

"The Army participants plant Bulwark Defender 06 to be a gigantic success. From a global operational perspective, the exercise enabled the Army to share CND tactics and courses among the joint community. The exercise also provided a mechanism to identify requirements, like improved continuity of operations steps that are normally not recognized in standard training exercises," he said.

Partcipants used the computer network tactics range to find out prevent and respond to different shadows of attacks. This included inert and deliberate efforts to compromise and mine data from network-based resources, as well as all-out actions aimed at total network takeovers.

Capt. Steven Carder, commanding officer, Navy Cyber Defense Operations Command, said, "Bulwark asserter establishes a new standard for joint CND exercises. Defending the global information grid requires continual proces improvement. BD-06 standarded our collaboration methods and expos best practices from each of the Services."

The exercise also included interagency participation. A number of BD06 scenarios reinforced and enhanced the ongoing choke partnership with law enforcement and spotlighted the careful balance between defense actions and timely forensics to trace and identify attack sources.

The exercise demonstrated the range and horizontals of sophistication of current real-world attacks for network upholders and the critical role each DoD network user plays in protecting the global information grid. single clear takeaway: continued awareness in succession potential threats, attacker techniques, and appropriate brass line defense response is vital to DoD-wide information assurance.

Planning is already underway for the nearest Bulwark Defender. In 2007, the annual joint IA / CND capstone adventure will align with a joint operations exercise and promises to feature calm greater depth and breadth.

on 1st Lt. Aaron Hansen

23rd Information Operations Squadron

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