The DTIC and the IATAC - Valuable Resources For the War on Cyber Terrorism

The Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC)1900s to present but potential users are security
serves the DoD community as the largest centralscreened as part of the user qualification process.
resource for DoD and government-funded scientific,Information Analysis Centers - The Front End for
technical, engineering, and business related informationResearchers of Scientific and Technical Information
available today. Originally developed in World War II as(STI)
a resource on enemy technology, the DTIC hasDTIC Information Analysis Centers, or IACs, are
morphed into a valuable, if underutilized tool, fororganizations that are charted by the DoD and
understanding the technology bases for enemyoperated by DTIC with the mission of helping
attacks.researchers and other interested parties. IACs provide
Publicly Accessible Informationfree answers to simple questions and projects, while
Authorized visitors can search DTIC's publiclyalso allowing their services to be utilized for extended
accessible collections and read or download scientificprojects and Technical Area Tasks (TATs).
and technical information, using DTIC Online service.The Information Assurance Technology Analysis
DTIC also makes available sensitive and classifiedCenter (IATAC), an IAC that focuses on Cyber
information to eligible users who register for DTICSecurity issues, provides the Department of Defense
services.(DoD) and related agencies with existing, historic and
The DTIC consists of a large relational data baseemerging scientific and technical information (STI) to
coupled with convenient and powerful Informationsupport Cyber Security/information assurance (IA) and
Analysis Centers (IAC's) that mange issue relateddefensive information operations.
searches and updates/maintenance to the database.This information includes technologies, tools, and
An Information Assurance/Cyber security Informationassociated techniques for detection of, protection
Analysis Center (IATAC) is one of the more recentagainst, reaction to, and recovery from information
efforts and offers valuable information and tools forwarfare and cyber attacks that target information,
researchers.information-based processes, information systems (IS),
Scientific and Technical Information Network - Theand information technology (IT) in the DOD and related
Heart of DTICagencies.
The Scientific and Technical Information NetworkThe STI products and services resulting from IATAC
(STINET) is a database that contains data andefforts are intended to increase the productivity of
information for various defense-related researchCyber Security researchers, as well asother
reports. The database raw material contains reportsconcerned Cyber Security participants. This is
on a topics ranging from science and engineering toaccomplished through timely dissemination of
Information Assurance/Cyber Security from a largeauthoritative, accurate, and high quality reports and
number of sources. Users can research the latestanswers to subject matter inquiries through the
cyber security technology, laws and standards, newIATAC.
products and a wealth of relevant, timely information.Underutilization - A Marketing Issue
There are various levels of access to STINET.As valuable as the database and services are to the
· The public database is available to the general publicCyber Security community, the DTIC is relatively
regarding unclassified documents with an unlimitedunknown. As a result, the IATAC is a valuable if
distribution.underutilized resource. Although any party interested in
· A private database has a private URL that allowsthe scientific or technical developments that underlie
for searches to be made for unclassified material withCyber attacks or defenses can significantly benefit
limited distribution.from the information developed, qualified and analyzed
· The classified database contains Confidential andby DTIC and IATAC, awareness of the value of this
Secret documents, in addition to the unclassifiedasset is limited.
material.As an organization DTIC can benefit from better
· Finally, there is a hard copy DVD that containspromotion and modern marketing to the DOD and
material only for unclassified, confidential, and secretrelated agencies. But the task, given the size of the
documents.community is daunting and will take significant effort in
All levels of STINET access contain material from thethe coming years.