Pentagon to boost cybersecurity force The Pentagon has approved a major expansion of its cybersecurity force over the next several years, more than quadrupling its size to bolster the nation's ability to defend critical computer systems and conduct offensive computer operations against foreign adversaries, according to U.S. officials. The move, requested by the head of the Defense Department's Cyber Command, is part of an effort to build an organization that until now has focused largely on defensive measures into the equivalent of an Internet-era fighting force. The command, made up of about 900 personnel, will expand to include 4,900 troops and civilians. Sepcial Report: Zero Day - The Threat in Cyberspace: To succeed in addressing risks in the digital universe, global leaders must understand one of the most complex, man-made creations on Earth. The Pentagon has approved a major expansion of its cybersecurity force over the next several years. Greg Jaffe Pfc. Ted Daniels returned to the U.S. and uploaded video of himself under Taliban fire. In days, it went viral. The United States offering aerial refueling and planes to transport soldiers. Peter Finn New software gives FBI a potent tool in its search for who leaked classified intel about computer virus. Hear from the Army private whose first-person video of a firefight in Afghanistan has received more than twenty-three million views on YouTube. The small, mountable cameras are often used for tactical means, but hours of combat footage taken by these helmet cams have also been viewed by millions on the Internet. The Washington Post's Greg Jaffe talks about the ubiquity of the cameras and the combat footage that ends up on computer screens around the world. Details of the plan have not been finalized, but the decision to expand the Cyber Command was made by senior Pentagon officials late last year in recognition of a growing threat in cyberspace, said officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the expansion has not been formally announced. The gravity of that threat, they said, has been highlighted by a string of sabotage attacks, including one in which a virus was used to wipe data from more than 30,000 computers at a Saudi Arabian state oil company last summer. The plan calls for the creation of three types of forces under the Cyber Command: "national mission forces" to protect computer systems that undergird electrical grids, power plants and other infrastructure deemed critical to national and economic security; "combat mission forces" to help commanders abroad plan and execute attacks or other offensive operations, and "cyber protection forces" to harden the Defense Department's networks. Although the command was established three years ago for some of these purposes, it has largely been consumed by the need to develop policy and legal frameworks and ensure that the military networks are defended. Current and former defense officials said the plan will allow the command to better fulfill its mission. "Given the malicious actors that are out there and the development of the technology, in my mind, there's little doubt that some adversary is going to attempt a significant cyberattack on the United States at some point," said William J. Lynn III, a former deputy defense secretary who helped fashion the Pentagon's cybersecurity strategy. The only question is whether we're going to take the necessary steps like this one to deflect the impact of the attack in advance or . . . read about the steps we should have taken in some post-attack commission report. Although generally agreed to by the military's service chiefs, the plan has raised concerns about how the Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force will find and train so many qualified cybersecurity personnel. It also raises deeper issues - which are likely to intensify as the Cyber Command grows over the years - about how closely it should be aligned with the National Security Agency, the giant electronic-spying agency that provides much of its intelligence support. The head of the Cyber Command, Gen. Keith B. Alexander, is also the director of NSA, which employs some of the nation's most advanced cyber-operations specialists.