U.S. Navy tackles cyber threats

WASHINGTON, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- The U.S. Navy announced it will merge its communications, intelligence and technology operations into one unit to address challenges in the information age.

"If we as a Navy are to remain dominant in this Information Age or Cyber Age," said Adm. Gary Roughead, chief of naval operations, "I think that we have to take advantage of the new opportunities that exist, such as the vast stores of collected data, information and intelligence that often lie at rest, unrecoverable, unavailable and untapped."

Consolidating operations into a naval operation center for information dominance is vital if the U.S. military aims to capitalize on the ability to analyze and deliver information to field commanders in real time, the U.S. Navy reported.

In addition, U.S. defense officials have identified the Internet as a strategic vulnerability based on the world dependence on electronic communication.

Roughead said threats that exist in cyberspace make the online environment one of the new battlefields of the 21st century.

"We must be prepared to operate in cyberspace when it's denied, and then we must also be able to deny space when it's required or when it's appropriate," he said.

The U.S. Navy plans to add 1,000 technicians to a technology corps numbering around 44,000 officers.