U.S. Strategic Command (STRAT-COM) is responsible for coordinating and managing a range of missions. Based at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, STRATCOM's operational portfolio covers space operations; information operations; integrated missile defense; global command and control; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; global strike and strategic deterrence. The command is also charged with conducting computer network operations and is designated as the military's lead organization for defending Defense Department networks and denying adversaries the ability to use computer networks to conduct offensive operations.rnAccording to STRATCOM official Lt. Charles Drey, USN, the United States faces challenges from a diverse range of threats that include recreational hackers, self-styled cyber-vigilantes, groups with nationalistic or ideological agendas, transnational actors and nation-states. Because advanced computer and information technology is widely and inexpensively available globally, thernthreat to the Defense Department's Global Information Grid is extensive, pervasive and increasingly sophisticated. This technical capability offers adversaries the potential to develop and employ intrusion and control tools to exploit information systems and networks worldwide. Lt. Drey notes that current and potential adversaries with sophisticated cyber capabilities pose an asymmetrical threat to the United States' military and commercial infrastructure.
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