ED Bungled command and control

C4I paralysis raises questions about combat readiness

The military suffered a setback in command and control for three days in late October as its C4I ― command, control, computers, communications and intelligence ― system broke down at some Army units in the capital area and on the border in Gangwon Province where the country's main military might is concentrated.

The resultant paralysis of the system reportedly began with a glitch in server management programs that conducted C4I-related projects in 2017 and 2018. The Army units' log-in attempts to the C4I system failed, as an error message reading “the software authentication certificate has expired” popped up.

C4I is a system that is core to network-centric modern warfare by facilitating the exchange of military intelligence. Its paralysis means that the military's central neural network actually fell apart. If such an incident had happened in wartime, our military might have been helplessly wiped out.

The Army admitted to the faults in the C4I system but said it did not really matter because back-up equipment became operational immediately. Yet even the back-up equipment reportedly didn't work properly at some units. Given that North Korea is doing whatever it can to hack into our command and control system, it's dumbfounding to see the C4I network cease to function not from an external attack but an internal breakdown.

The big issue is that the military's security system has been marred by recurring problems recently. A North Korean defector crossed the border unhindered just last week and roamed about south of the border for 14 hours before being apprehended, but sensors installed at the barbed wire fences didn't set off an alarm. The paralysis of the C4I system even in just a few Army units is serious enough to raise questions about the country's combat readiness. It's imperative to get to the bottom of the case and take measures to prevent the recurrence of such mishaps.