In Search Of Patriotic Cyberwarriors

What’s the Latest Development?

It hasn’t been finalized yet, nor has it been formally announced, but officials have confirmed that the Pentagon has approved a major expansion of its Cyber Command from its current 900 to almost 5,000 military and civilian personnel. The expansion will occur over the next several years and is meant to transform “an organization that has focused largely on defensive measures into the equivalent of an Internet-era fighting force” or, more specifically, three types of forces targeted toward infrastructure protection, offensive operations, and fortification of Defense Department networks.

What’s the Big Idea?

As technology and threats to it continue to become more prevalent, the need for a strong cyberdefense may seem obvious, but there are several challenges that stand in the way of this expansion. One involves simply locating people and training them; another concerns the close connection between the Cyber Command and the National Security Agency (NSA) — which focuses more on surveillance — and whether it can truly be converted into a military facility. However, one former intelligence official thinks this can be overcome since the NSA uses military personnel already: “Take the talent resident [there and] turn it into [cyber] attack talent.”

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Read it at The Washington Post