Acquisition as a Weapon?

By Sebastian Sprenger / May 4, 2009 at 5:00 AM

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."

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