U.S. Secretary Of Defense Ashton Carter Courts Silicon Valley Tech Community To Lead New Military Cyber Strategy
PALO ALTO (KCBS) - U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter was in Silicon Valley on Thursday, courting tech leaders as he unveiled a new military cyber strategy.
In a visit to Stanford University, Carter said the Department of Defense needs to better harness the commercial sector's vibrancy and innovation.
"We're establishing a Department of Defense branch of the U.S. Digital Service, the outgrowth of the tech team that helped rescue healthcare.gov for example," Carter said. "To help solve some of our most intractable IT and data problems."
He also announced that Defense Innovation Unit X will be located in Silicon Valley to scout for emerging technologies and to strengthen existing relationships.
Secretary Carter also unveiled a recently declassified attack, where hackers earlier this year penetrated unclassified Pentagon networks.
"After learning valuable information about their tactics, we analyzed their network activity associated with Russia and then quickly kicked them off the network," Carter said.
The Department of Homeland Security also announced plans recently to open offices in Silicon Valley.
