Multilevel Security: How it Fits in the Strategic Vision C4I for the Warrior

摘要

'The downsizing of military forces an the shrinking defense budget have resultedin increased reliance on C4I interoperability. C4I for the Warrior concept starts with the warrior's requirements and provides a roadmap to reach the objective of a seamless, secure, interoperable global C4I network for the warrior. The C4I for the Warrior concept will give the battlefield commander access to all information needed to win in war and will provide the information when, where and how the commander wants it.' These are the words of General Colin L. Powell, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. They reflect his views on the importance of Command, Control, Communications, Computer, and Intelligence (C4I) and its increased importance in, future confrontations on the battlefield. The C4I for the Warrior concept's focus is on making the operational commander's job easier. One facet of that approach is allowing the warrior to request or 'pull' only the information required at a particular time. This will prevent the warrior from being inundated with multiple reports, from multiple sources, requiring extensive analysis and deconfliction wasting precious decision time. 'Pulling' this information from multiple sources and 'fusing' it into one simple report for the operational commander has significant security implications. This study examines the C4I for the Warrior concept, multilevel security, and accreditation of computer networks. It is an attempt to understand what problems lie ahead in the effort to incorporate multilevel security into the C4I for the Warrior concept and provide recommendations addressing those problems.