Gen. Alexander At RSA: Cyber Security A 'Team Sport'

"Securing our nation's network is a team sport. We all have to work together to make this happen," Alexander said Thursday during his keynote presentation.

With the proliferation of devices and Web-based platforms combined with the evolving security threat landscape and massive increase in data and information, the world has changed, creating new vulnerabilities and attack points, Alexander said.

"The rate of change is huge. It's exploding," he said, adding that, "There are tremendous opportunities with what's going on, with what we're creating. And there are tremendous vulnerabilities."

Calling cyberspace "a national security problem," Alexander said securing the Internet, networks and infrastructure to protect against attacks and threats will require a combined effort between the public and private sectors.

Alexander said there are cyber weapons that have yet to be used and there are destructive tools waiting in the wings for attack. A solution to protect against them is needed.

"We have to develop stronger defenses and we need to use this window of opportunity to get that done," he said.

As far as the military and government are concerned, cyberspace is a domain, just like air, land and sea and needs to be defended. He said that U.S. President Barak Obama has also been vocal about protecting against the risks that are inherent in cyberspace.

It's important to not have a static defense, Alexander said. National cyber security is not set-it-and-forget-it.

"You can't have a static defense if the adversary's running all over," he said, adding, "We cannot build defense for our systems…and expect that it will live there forever."

The military and government are currently working to create dynamic defenses to protect networks and develop countermeasures for attacks. He said an early warning system notifying of threats is also necessary.

"We've got to change from a static defense...it's got to be full spectrum defense," he said.

The key is to protect national security without violating Americans' civil liberties and privacy, Alexander said.

"We must demand to get both. And we can," he said.

It's also imperative that there is a public demand for secure technology and that education is paramount to create that demand.

"This is a team sport," he said. "This team sport takes all of us...to fix our cyber security."