Joint Task Force-Global Network Operations (JTF-GNO) was a subordinate command of

United States Strategic Command United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands in the United States Department of Defense. Headquartered at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, USSTRATCOM is responsible for strategic nuclear deter ...

whose mission was to: direct the operation and defense of the

Global Information Grid The Global Information Grid (GIG) is a network of information transmission and processing maintained by the United States Department of Defense. More descriptively, it is a worldwide network of information transmission, of associated processes, a ...

(GIG) across strategic, operational, and tactical boundaries in support of the US Department of Defense's full spectrum of war fighting, intelligence, and business operations. The Task Force's operations were moved to

Fort Meade Fort George G. Meade is a United States Army installation located in Maryland, that includes the Defense Information School, the Defense Media Activity, the United States Army Field Band, and the headquarters of United States Cyber Command, th ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; ...

, in April 2010 as part of decisions reached under the 2005

Base Realignment and Closure Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) is a process by a United States federal government commission to increase United States Department of Defense efficiency by coordinating the realignment and closure of military installations following the en ...

process. JTF-GNO was dissolved and incorporated within the

United States Cyber Command United States Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense (DoD). It unifies the direction of cyberspace operations, strengthens DoD cyberspace capabilities, and integr ...

on September 7, 2010.

Primary responsibilities

* Identifies and resolves

computer security Computer security, cybersecurity (cyber security), or information technology security (IT security) is the protection of computer systems and networks from attack by malicious actors that may result in unauthorized information disclosure, t ...

anomalies that affect the GIG's ability to support Secretary of Defense (SECDEF) elements,

Joint Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and th ...

, Supported Combatant Commands and the "warfighter". * Identifies significant threats to the GIG. Develop, disseminate and implement countermeasures to these threats in a timely manner via Information Assurance Vulnerability Messages (IAVM) * Assesses the incidents reported by

Combatant Command A unified combatant command (CCMD), also referred to as a combatant command, is a joint military command of the United States Department of Defense that is composed of units from two or more service branches of the United States Armed Forces, an ...

, service, and

agency Agency may refer to: Organizations * Institution, governmental or others ** Advertising agency or marketing agency, a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising for its clients ** Employment agency, a business that ...

(CC/S/A)

computer network defense Computer network operations (CNO) is a broad term that has both military and civilian application. Conventional wisdom is that information is power, and more and more of the information necessary to make decisions is digitized and conveyed over an e ...

(CND) and Regions individually and cumulatively for their impact on the "warfighter’s" ability to carry out current and future missions. * Coordinates the response actions taken by the CC/S/A CND service providers (CNDSP). * Identifies emerging technologies and their associated threats in order to integrate migrations and response actions into current CND posture.

History

In 1998 the

Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philippin ...

recognized a growing cyber threat and in response created the Joint Task Force-Computer Network Defense (JTF-CND), which achieved initial operational capability on 30 December 1998 and full operational capability by June 1999. In the fall of 2000, the JTF-CND assumed responsibility for the Do
computer network attack mission
and became the Joint Task Force—Computer Network Operations (JTF-CNO). In October 2002, the new Unified Command Plan, Change 2, re-aligned JTF-CNO under the United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) The JTF-CNO began its largest and most comprehensive transformation in April 2004 when the Commander of US Strategic Command approved the Joint Concept of Operations for GIG Network Operations. This “

NetOps NetOps is defined as the operational framework consisting of three essential tasks, Situational Awareness (SA), and Command & Control (C2) that the Commander (CDR) of US Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), in coordination with DoD and Global NetOps Co ...

CONOPS” provided the common framework and command and control structure to conduct the USSTRATCOM Unified Command Plan-assigned mission of Global Network Operations, combining the disciplines of enterprise systems and network management, network defense, and information decision management. The Secretary of Defense signed a delegation of authority letter on 18 June 2004, designating the Director,

DISA Disa is the heroine of a Swedish legendary saga, which was documented by Olaus Magnus, in 1555. It is believed to be from the Middle Ages, but includes Old Norse themes. It was elaborated by Johannes Messenius in his drama ''Disa'', which was t ...

as the new Commander of the Joint Task Force-Global Network Operations. With this designation, the new command assumed the responsibility for directing the operation and defense of the GIG. This transformation enhanced the JTF GNO's mission and objectives was crucial in pushing towards the Joint Vision 2020 Objectives and the evolving concept of Net-Centricity. Hackers attempted to enter

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secur ...

networks nearly 75,000 times in 2004.Wired.com
/ref>

Former operations

The JTF-GNO functions in accordance with Unified Command Plan 2002 (Change 2) and the Joint Concept of Operations for GIG NetOps, assuring Global Information Superiority by achieving the three assurances outlined in the Joint Concept of Operations for GIG NetOps: Assured System and Network Availability, Assured Information Protection, and Assured Information Delivery. The Task Force has a number of associated service components, including the

1st Information Operations Command (Land) The 1st Information Operations Command (Land), formerly the Land Information Warfare Activity Information Dominance Center (LIWA/IDC), is an information operations unit under the operational control of U.S. Army Cyber Command (ARCYBER) and hea ...

, the affiliated

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

formation.

Personnel

The JTF-GNO was authorized 255 positions at the height of its operations in early 2009. Lieutenant General Carroll F. Pollett was the Commander of JTF-GNO during its disestablishment.

References

Bibliography

*Ackerman, Robert K. (August 2005). �
Keeping ahead of cyberfoes remains the key to protecting information technology assets
” Signal Magazine *Brooks, Peter. (August 30, 2005). �
The Art of (Cyber) War
” The Heritage Foundation

External links

Joint Task Force-Global Network Operations (JTF-GNO)
(restricted access) {{DEFAULTSORT:Joint Task Force - Global Network Operations Military units and formations established in 2004 United States Strategic Command Joint task forces of the United States Armed Forces Net-centric