Cyber Threats Jeopardize US Military Mobility, Report Warns

The U.S. military’s ability to deploy, supply and sustain its forces in a major conflict is under threat – not from enemy fire, but from cyberattacks targeting the digital systems that keep troops and equipment moving, according to a new report.

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The Cyberspace Solarium Commission 2.0, a successor to the congressionally mandated Cyber Solarium Commission and housed under the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, warned in a Thursday report that air, rail and maritime networks essential to military mobility are vulnerable to disruption by near-peer adversaries like China.

“The nation can no longer afford to waste time debating the immediacy of the threat. Washington must identify and resource solutions now,” the report asserts.

“What we need is regulatory harmonization within sectors, specifically reciprocity across regulatory regimes,” said Annie Fixler, director of the FDD’s Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation and a co-author of the report. If a company proves cybersecurity compliance to one regulator, Fixler said that demonstration of compliance should satisfy another at the federal or state level. “But sector-specific equities and risks should trump cross-sector harmonization,” she told Information Security Media Group.

Congress, the White House and regulators must streamline cybersecurity regulations, wrote Fixler alongside author Mark Montgomery and Rory Lane, allowing infrastructure owners to prioritize security and resilience over compliance. The authors endorse increased funding for federal cybersecurity grants in transportation sectors crucial to military mobility and urge the Department of Defense to enhance interagency and private sector collaboration.

China has already infiltrated U.S. critical infrastructure, setting the stage for future cyberattacks designed to disrupt operations and incite chaos, the report states. The intelligence community has warned that such attacks could spark widespread panic (see: US Agencies Urged to Combat Growing Chinese Cyberthreat).

The report outlines how Chinese-made equipment could pose a severe risk to U.S. military mobility in a direct conflict, given its deep entrenchment in critical infrastructure. Chinese state-owned Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries dominates the global market for ship-to-shore container cranes, supplying nearly 80% of those used in American ports (see: Chinese Crane Giant Poses Cybersecurity Threat to US Ports).

“Inhibiting the U.S. military’s ability to move troops and material from ‘fort to port’ takes a significant capability off America’s chessboard,” the report states. “Ensuring the resilience of U.S. critical infrastructure must be a top priority for the nation as a whole and for DOD in particular.”

The DOD and White House did not respond to requests for comment.