The US Department of Defence is requesting $5 billion in funding for cyber-related actions next year.
In a document detailing the budget request, it is revealed that of a total budget of $496 billion – which is static from 2013 and 2-14 requests, cyber is highlighted as a key threat area, and a key aim will be to “continue to grow and train cyber mission forces”.
Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer at F-Secure, pointed out that the cyber operations budget for 2015 is 8.5 per cent larger than for 2014. “In any case, the budget for cyber operations is huge. For comparison, I believe DARPA’s budget is $3 billion, he said.
TK Keanini, CTO of Lancope, told IT Security Guru that all of the military (and civilian population) are growing more dependent on information systems and as this trend continues, we will also see more growth in the budgets to protect and secure these information systems.
He said: “The budget for cyber spend is tricky because in some cases, you are addressing shortcomings and in other cases the spend is for an advantage. In the end, if nothing bad happens then budgets will likely be cut; and if bad things happen budgets will be increased and this is the paradox we face.”
