The Office of the Department of Defense’s Chief Information Officer has released a document establishing the DOD Cyber Assessment Program and outlining the policy and responsibilities for program requirements and subprograms for all components involved in the development, sustainment and acquisition of the department’s digital infrastructure and related systems.
The latest DOD instruction defines the scope and authorities of DOD Cyber Red Teams, or DCRTs, and assigns processes for validating the qualifications and skills of such teams.
The document also lays out responsibilities for risk evaluation related to conducting DCRT assessments and the risks and results associated with the teams that carry them out.
According to DOD Instruction 8585.01, a DCRT is a multidisciplinary group of personnel authorized to emulate a potential adversary’s attack capabilities against a targeted mission or capability and highlight vulnerabilities and demonstrate operational impact for enhancing joint operations in cyberspace and the DOD Information Network’s cybersecurity posture.
DCRTs are also authorized to perform three roles as part of the DOD defense cyberspace forces: acquisition tester, operational vulnerability assessor and cyber opposing force aggressor.