US Army Cyber Command Growing to Meet Shifting Foreign Threats

Felicia Schwartz

Wall Street Journal

October 15, 2014

Army Bolsters Cybersecurity Force Amid Shifts in Threats, Technology

Lt. Gen. Edward Cardon, commander of U.S. Army Cyber Command, speaks during the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association Cybersecurity Summit in Washington, D.C., on May 28, 2014. (Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images)Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

Cybersecurity threats are increasing in frequency and sophistication as technological advances make it easier to wage cyber attacks, according to the Army’s top cyber officer.

As recently as five years ago, would-be cyber attackers needed expert knowledge to take down systems and networks. Now, they can download tools to conduct these operations online, said Lt. Gen. Edward Cardon, commanding general of U.S. Army Cyber Command.

Gen. Cardon, speaking to reporters at the Association of the United States Army annual meeting on Monday, said threats are coming faster and are “increasing in volume and velocity.”

The Pentagon established the U.S. Cyber Command in 2009 to bolster the military’s cyber warfare and cyber defense capabilities. The command is overseen by Adm. Michael Rogers, who also is in charge of the National Security Agency, a military intelligence agency.

The Army created its own dedicated cyber branch in August, partly as a move to recruit and retain cyber specialists for the effort. To combat the changing environment, the U.S. Cyber Command is carrying out plans to recruit 6,000 cyber-focused personnel by 2016, and has already hired about 2,000 of them, Gen. Cardon said.

The Army’s Cyber Command, which falls under the U.S. Cyber Command umbrella, will move to Fort Gordon in Augusta, Ga., by 2019, and will break ground on its new headquarters there in 2016.

Gen. Cardon said the Army is working on ways to recruit and retain a highly skilled and experienced cyber workforce. The Army competes with private tech companies to recruit these workers, and is exploring innovative ways to do so, including making military hiring policies more flexible.

“As I’ve traveled around to the different tech companies, a lot of them would like to work with us, but they don’t want a permanent job with us. So right now the personnel polices doesn’t really allow us to do that, they don’t allow us to bring somebody in for a year,” Gen. Cardon said.

Changing this policy could help bring in more talent, and also allow the Army to be more flexible in recruiting soldiers with specific expertise based on current threats, he said.