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The news cycle has been dominated by stories about how vulnerable we are to cyber attacks. We have not seen too much coverage about offensive strategies by the U.S. government. That is until now, and the news is not good. According to recent report from a panel of military, diplomatic, legal and IT security experts assembled by the National Research Council, the U.S. government lacks a comprehensive policy about how it will engage in cyber warfare. The report states that the U.S. government also lacks a person or office to coordinate cyberattack. So, does this mean that nothing is happening on the offensive front??

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We are excited to announce that United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF) today announced the first three keynote speakers for its sixth annual GEOINT Symposium, which include U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Robert Murrett, director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA); U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. David A. Deptula, deputy chief of staff for U.S. Air Force intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; and the Honorable James R. Clapper Jr., undersecretary of defense for intelligence.

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Last week, Air Force Col. Eric J. Holdaway held a press teleconference from the Combined Air Operations Center at Al Udeid air base in Qatar, and provided details about the use of airborne intelligence in the recent successful U.S. airstrike in Iraq’s Diyala province killed a group of al-Qaeda fighters. The key to making this strike a success, especially when al-Qaeda hide within the general population, was the use of airborne intelligence combined with human intelligence. Check out the Washington Post’s article here.

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It is certainly heartening for us GEOINT/GIS/Mapping enthusiasts to see that President Obama is using mapping technologies to showcase his successes in his first 100 days in office. Click on this link to see the map and definitely roll over each state where you will see the various actions taken by the new administration. The site also offers real-life stories of citizens who have benefited from the Obama’s efforts.

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Following is an exclusive got geoint? podcast with another leader and visionary in the intelligence community. We were lucky enough to get a few minutes with Mr. Robert Cardillo, Deputy Director for Analysis, Defense Intelligence Agency. Listen to Mr. Cardillo provide insightful thoughts on the opportunities and challenges that the intelligence community faces.

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In a head-scratching marketing move today, the U.S. government staged a photo shoot of Air Force One being trailed by a couple of fighter jets. And needless to say, it created a panic of pretty significant proportions with folks working in downtown Manhattan — many thinking another 9/11 was happening on this warm spring day. Read more about it here.

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Good morning and happy Monday. Welcome again to the Monday Morning News Kick Off column on got geoint? As always, we try to summarize all the key news stories to get your week off to a productive start. Of course we will touch upon the ongoing political battle regarding controversial C.I.A. interrogation techniques, but the big story is the swine flu and the recently declared state of public emergency. Scroll down to learn more.

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Happy Friday. It has been quite a week for the intelligence and defense communities. From the political fall-out of the Obama administration releasing the interrogation memos to the breach of the Joint Strike Fighter program, it has been a week rife with drama. I’m sure many are ready for the weekend to begin, and enjoy the nice weather. Speaking of weather and the environment, we neglected to pay homage to Earth Day this week. As such, we are expanding upon the theme of last month’s “Big Blue Marble” FFT post. Oh, and we have a few miscellaneous items to tickle your frontal lobe. Scroll down and enjoy.

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With all of the news surrounding the breach of the $300 billion Joint Strike Fighter program dominating the airwaves these days, there is a smaller and just as interesting story that popped up on Wired about a crackdown of Brazilian hackers who have continuously overtaken a U.S. Navy communications satellite.

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On April 6, Defense Secretary Robert Gates unveiled what many consider to be a radical plan to divert money away from legacy weapons systems like the F-22 fighter plane. The new thinking is that defense spending should go towards “Irregular Warfare” programs. So, what exactly is Irregular Warfare (IW) you ask? We found this very detailed 2007 Department of Defense JOC on IW for your enlightenment. In addition, here’s the definition from the document:

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