First U.S. cyberspace weapon now fully functional, says Air Force

(Cyberwar.news) The Air Force has announced that its Intranet Control Weapon System has become the first cyberspace weapon to become operational.

According to a press release, the system does not provide offensive cyberwar capabilities but it can control all external and inter-base network traffic via standard, centrally managed gateways.

Dubbed the AFINC, the system is now “fully capable to serve as the top-level defensive boundary and entry point for all network traffic into the Air Force Information Network,” the release, from Air Force Space Command in Colorado, said.

The service said that AFINC will provide security for network infrastructure that is utilized by more than 1 million military and civilian Air Force personnel around the world at 237 different sites. The system incorporates a number of missions including cyberspace reconnaissance and surveillance, intelligence gathering, and interdiction and security.

The system will be operated by the 26th Network Operations Squadron (26th NOS) located at Gunter Annex, Montgomery, AL.

“It was an amazing team effort to achieve FOC,” said Lt Col Omar Velasco, 26th NOS commander. “We couldn’t have done it without our Air Force Lifecycle Management Center Program Office at Hanscom AFB, HQ AFSPC and 24th Air Force staffs, and most importantly our dedicated military, civilian, and contractor personnel employing the AFINC cyber weapon system to sustain and defend the Air Force network.”

FOC “means the AFINC weapon system is fully capable to serve as the top-level defensive boundary and entry point for all network traffic into the Air Force Information Network,” the press release stated.

“As the first line of defense for our network, the 26th NOS team is responsible for more than one billion firewall, web, and email blocks per week from suspicious and adversarial sources,” said Col. Pamela Woolley, 26th Cyberspace Operations Group commander. “Our network is under constant attack and it is a testament to the dedication of our 26th NOS team that our network reliability and traffic flow remains consistently high.”

Other cyberspace weapons systems include the Air Force Cyberspace Defense Weapon System, the Cyber Security and Control System Weapon System, the Cyber Command and Control Mission System Weapon System, the Cyberspace Defense Analysis Weapon System, and the Cyberspace Vulnerability Assessment/Hunter Weapon System, the Air Force noted.

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