US military to review cyber crime dealing rules in face of increased threat

The US military has decided to review its rules of dealing with cyber related crimes in light of the soaring cyber attacks.

Military chief Martin Dempsey said that the decision has been taken in light of the rising cyber crimes and the Department of Defence has developed emergency procedures to guide their response to imminent, significant cyber threat, News 24 reports.

According to the report, in what will be the first update to the rules in seven years, Dempsey said that the forces are updating their rules of engagement and improving command and control for cyber forces adding that intrusions to their critical infrastructure have increased 17-fold.

The report said that 4 000 cyber-security experts are expected to join the ranks over the next four years, while some 23 billion dollars would be spent on tackling the threat.

The military now has a manual which allows it to cooperate with the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI in the event of attacks on civilian networks.

Dempsey said that the safeguards by the private sector are inadequate adding that only few companies have invested adequately in cyber security.

On the issue of the recent leaks by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden about the US secret surveillance programme, Dempsey said that though the country is debating the proper purpose, and limits, of intelligence collection for national security, a balance between privacy and security can be struck, the report added.