DARPA Director speaks of offensive capabilities in cyber security

Since 2009, DARPA has been steadily increasing its cyber research. Its budget submission for fiscal year 2012 increased cyber research funding by $88M, from $120M to $208M. Over the next five years, the Agency’s proposed cyber research investment is expected to grow from 8 to 12 percent of its top line.

Importantly, these investments are focused on programs that seek convergence with the threat and recognize the unique needs of DoD. The agency is shifting investments to activities that promise more convergence with the threat and that recognize the needs of the Department of Defense. "Malicious cyber attacks are not merely an existential threat to our bits and bytes;" said Dugan. "They are a real threat to our physical systems, including our military systems. To this end, in the coming years we will focus an increasing portion of our cyber research on the investigation of offensive capabilities to address military-specific needs."

DARPA’s role in the creation of the Internet means that the Agency was party to the intense opportunities it created and shares in the intense responsibility to protect it. "Our responsibility is to acknowledge and prepare to protect the Nation in this new environment," said Dugan. "We need more and better options. Our assessment argues that we are capability limited, both offensively and defensively. We need to fix that."