Air Force Director of Cyberspace Strategy and Policy Brig. Gen. Sarah Zabel said CIOs at military branches need to be more integrated into the cyber mission, rather than focused solely on developing and maintaining IT infrastructure.
While moderating a panel of Air Force IT and acquisition officials hosted by AFCEA D.C. Chapter on March 16, Zabel suggested a cultural shift in thinking that would "operationalize" the CIO to be more involved in the warfighting effort rather than strictly focused on the underlying networks.
"If you've been around the IT and cyber world long enough you see just how similar those worlds are," she said. "We have different people, different programs and habits of talking about these things as two worlds. They are not different worlds; they are the same world. That means the chief information officer has an absolutely integral, irreplaceable role in cyberspace. But we didn't approach it that way when we set it up."
Zabel noted that the CIO shouldn't be operational in the sense of "fly, fight and win the nation's wars" but should be thinking of critical mission factors when buying and developing IT systems.
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Aaron Boyd is an awarding-winning journalist currently serving as editor of Federal Times — a Washington, D.C. institution covering federal workforce and contracting for more than 50 years — and Fifth Domain — a news and information hub focused on cybersecurity and cyberwar from a civilian, military and international perspective.
