Acquisition as a Weapon?

Last week's Defense Science Board report conferred an almost operational role to defense acquisition. Specifically, the procurement of information technology should be conducted with a certain tactical feistyness or, as the document puts it, to "confound the enemy."

The recommendation is part of a section about ways to harden military cyberspace assets against intrusions.

According to the DSB report, IT acquisition folks should:

• "Buy in variety and update often;
• "Buy only needed functionality;
• "Combine government and commercial off-the-shelf systems; ((and))
• "Create a national cyber defense test bed."

DSB members acknowledge implementing these steps would drive up cost. But, they argue, buying IT gear any other way would be like "buying a tank without armor."