From the U.S. Government Accountability Office, www.gao.gov Transcript for: The Critical Role of DOD's Electromagnetic Spectrum and the Strategy to Protect It Description: The electromagnetic spectrum is the range of frequencies critical for communications, navigation, and more. This information could be simple things we use every day, like GPS devises. However, the Department of Defense is using it for serious things--like national defense and controlling military equipment and operation. We talk with GAO's Joe Kirschbaum--an expert on defense infrastructure, and a director in our Defense Capabilities and Management Team--about a new report on DOD's strategy to protect the electromagnetic spectrum. Related GAO Work: GAO-21-64, Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations: DOD Needs to Address Governance and Oversight Issues to Help Ensure Superiority Released: December 2020 [Intro Music] [Joe Kirschbaum:]. DOD can capitalize on the progress that they've already made and manage the use of the electromagnetic spectrum in combat operations. [Holly Hobbs:] Hi, and welcome to GAO's Watchdog Report, your source for news and information from the U.S. Government Accountability Office-- I'm Holly Hobbs. The electromagnetic spectrum is the range of frequencies critical for communication, navigation, and more. This information could be used for simple things like GPS devises or the signal sent by your garage-door opener. However, the Department of Defense is using it for serious things--like national defense and controlling military equipment and operations. According to the DOD, without control of the electromagnetic spectrum or EMS, the U.S. risk losing control of the battlefield. So what is DOD doing to advance and protect its EMS strategy? Today, we talk with GAO's Joe Kirschbaum--an expert on defense infrastructure, and a director in our Defense Capabilities and Management Team. Thank you for joining us Joe! [Joe Kirschbaum:] My pleasure. [Holly Hobbs:] So Joe, what concerns led GAO do to work on DOD's use of the electromagnetic spectrum? [Joe Kirschbaum:] One of the concerns we have about the way the electromagnetic spectrum is used in conflict or potential conflict is that it's another important element of what we look at as the information environment. So it's a lot of the things that you hear a lot about today like cyber space, cyber activities, information operations. It's part of that huge information-age construct that causes all problems, but also has a lot of promise. It's that non-physical area where very important aspects of military operations get done. As you pointed out, it's like the GPS, the ability to use satellites to tell you where you are. Think of how vital that is for military services. [Holly Hobbs:] And your report looked at threats to our use of the electromagnetic spectrum. What are those threats? [Joe Kirschbaum:] Russia and China, they pose the most potent threat in terms of the capabilities that frankly they've already demonstrated and are developing. The, of course the threats are not limited to them. Other nations really impose similar kinds of threats. Perhaps maybe not quite as great across the board, but similar kinds. For example, the national defense strategy pointed out that Iran and North Korea also are looking for and have some of those capabilities. But really, any nation or potential adversary group could be a threat if they obtain and use certain kinds of technologies. That's actually one of the areas we're concerned about is that the cost of entry is really decreasing. Those technologies are becoming more available. And the examples of those kind of threats really range from sophisticated electromagnetic weapons on the battlefield, such as the kind Russia and China have developed, to technologies that can interfere with or disrupt the kinds of things you mentioned before--GPS, the routine communications and positioning technologies that are critical for all of us, but definitely so much so for battlefield weapons. So, nations like Russia and China, they've spent significant time and resources at a time when we were more focused on the counterterrorism mission and not paying quite as much attention to this area. [Holly Hobbs:] So does DOD have a strategy for protecting its EMS? [Joe Kirschbaum:] The Department of Defense actually just approved and released an electromagnetic spectrum superiority strategy. So, their intention is to really bring together several real courses of action that they had previously developed. And they really want to expand on the progress they made in those strategies in terms of--not just the individual tasks, and things they want to do themselves--but really looking at the electromagnetic spectrum more holistically. [Holly Hobbs:] And what challenges might DOD face to advance that strategy? [Joe Kirschbaum:] We identified several challenges. Primarily, it goes to the fact that DOD's planned actions in response to the previous strategies--they didn't really consistently implement them. They didn't really follow through on what they wanted to do. Some of this is the fact that the electromagnetic spectrum--as you might imagine is complex, it's difficult to wrap your hands around. Part of it is the way the department went about doing it, the structures they created in implementing those strategies. For example there really wasn't any long-term leadership commitment or accountability to kind of oversee the entire process. There are also several actions that the U.S. Congress asked DOD to do, so like looking at that governance strategy--who's supposed to do what, who's supposed to oversee what, and then also who's supposed to recommend things like innovations the department should make in its processes and procedures in order to really kick up the energy related to electromagnetic spectrum. So DOD hasn't really acted on a lot of those yet. [Music:] [Holly Hobbs:] So it sounds like the electromagnetic spectrum is an essential element of the Defense Department's control of military operations, and that the DOD has taken steps to advance and protect this technology. But that there are still threats to using the technology and challenges to DOD's superiority in EMS. Joe, did we make any recommendations to DOD to help promote its development and oversight of an EMS strategy? [Joe Kirschbaum:] We've made five recommendations. They're related to who is responsible for overseeing and implementing the kind of strategies DOD has developed. It's not just identifying things that need to be done. To be honest, the Department of Defense is well capable and have done a pretty good job of identifying a lot of the things that need to be done. But because the structures are the way they are, there's not a lot of direct leadership or oversight. And then also things like not just defining individual actions, but making sure you're ensuring that those actions are taken, and if they've had the benefit that you intended them to have. [Holly Hobbs:] And last question--what's the bottom line of this report? [Joe Kirschbaum:] Our potential adversaries, they've been looking at these kinds of advanced capabilities for quite a while now. And we've got innate capabilities in all of these areas and great potential and that needs to be properly overseen and harnessed. So ultimately, by addressing the kinds of gaps we identified, [DOD] can improve their ability to manage the use of the electromagnetic spectrum in combat operations, influence the ability of our adversaries to use the electromagnetic spectrum, and interrupt that when we need to, and also really to protect all of our systems: weapons systems, communication systems, computer systems and networks, and all those other capabilities that are vital for modern military operations in the information age. [Holly Hobbs:] That was Joe Kirschbaum talking about a new report assessing DOD's electromagnetic spectrum strategy. Thank you for your time Joe! [Joe Kirschbaum:] Thank you. [Holly Hobbs:] And thank you for listening to the Watchdog Report. To hear more podcasts, subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts. And make sure you leave a rating and review to let others know about the work we're doing. For more from the congressional watchdog, the U.S. Government Accountability Office, visit us at GAO.gov.