US DOD’s VanHerck says cyber vulnerabilities, foreign threats shaping future of homeland defense

The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) underscores that climate change, cyber vulnerabilities, and actions of both state and non-state hackers abroad are presenting significant threats that challenge the nation’s homeland security. 

Speaking at a forum on the future of homeland defense on Tuesday, Air Force Gen. Glen D. VanHerck, commander of the U.S. Northern Command said that “the United States’ ability to demonstrate resilience in the face of these challenges to the homeland is key to Defense Department’s ability to deter threats and maintain stability abroad.”

He said the current threat landscape represents the ‘most challenging’ he has witnessed in more than three decades of service.

Meeting the challenge, VanHerck said, will require innovation and integration across DOD and the interagency. “We’re talking about the future of homeland defense,” he said. “I don’t think the future looks anything like the past.”

“I think the future of homeland defense is more autonomous,” he said. “It’s more unmanned. It’s non-kinetic effects that can generate effects that can impact the precision navigation and timing of potential cruise missiles or other threats to our homeland. But it doesn’t look like it does today.”

Highlighting the growing exposure to cyberattacks in the U.S., VanHerck said, “I would tell you that we’re under attack every day in the cyber domain and the information space.” He also underscored the impact that global instability posed by Russia and China is having on U.S. homeland defense.

“The bottom line is the [People’s Republic of China] is the pacing challenge and a long-term existential threat,” he said, while also highlighting the significant challenges posed by Russia.

“If you look back since February of ’22, when Russia invaded Ukraine illegally, immorally, and unethically, they’ve been more active around the globe, specifically focused on our homeland in the air domain [and] undersea in the maritime domain on a routine basis,” he said. “I expect to see that continue as we continue moving forward and I expect to see that more with the PRC.”

VanHerck also highlighted the threats posed by North Korea, Iran, and transnational criminal organizations, all of whom pose a threat to the U.S. homeland.

Back in March, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) said in its latest annual report that foreign intelligence services are adopting ‘cutting-edge’ technologies, ranging from advanced cyber tools to unmanned systems to enhanced technical surveillance equipment, which improves their capabilities and challenges U.S. defenses. Much of this technology is available commercially, providing a shortcut for previously unsophisticated services to become legitimate threats.

Anna Ribeiro

Industrial Cyber News Editor. Anna Ribeiro is a freelance journalist with over 14 years of experience in the areas of security, data storage, virtualization and IoT.