Network security

Navy Depends on Automation, Data Analytics to Secure Unclassified Networks

Automation and data analytics are expected to help protect the U.S. Navy’s unclassified networks from cyberattacks.

Speaking at the WEST 2024, an annual Navy information technology conference, Vice Adm. Craig Clapperton, head of U.S. Fleet Cyber Command and the 10th Fleet, said the technology enables easy identification of commonalities, activities happening in one part of the network and threats that might spread across the network.

The Navy’s tools, which combine automation and data analysis, are capable of identifying and flagging suspicious activity and grouping incidents together, DefenseOne reported.

Clapperton added that the service is not entirely dependent on the technology as it is coupled with human operators, who step in when machines are incapable of attributing and solving the problem.

The service branch has been engaged in improving its cyber posture. In 2022, it disclosed an effort to create a recommendations list that will guide efforts for the Navy’s transition to cyber readiness and DevSecOps.

It also launched a competition in December 2022 to automate its controlled, unclassified information program. IBM’s artificial intelligence-backed solution for categorizing CUI markings went on to win the challenge’s top prize, with Deloitte and Secro-Nuix placing second and third, respectively.