Recruiting, Development, and Retention of Cyber Warriors Despite an Inhospitable Culture
Recruiting, Development, and Retention
of Cyber Warriors Despite an Inhospitable Culture
by Lieutenant Colonel Gregory
Conti and Lieutenant Colonel Jen Easterly
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Recruiting, Development, and Retention of Cyber Warriors Despite an Inhospitable
Culture
Make no mistake, our nation faces persistent, widespread and growing threats
in cyberspace. Across the array of dangerous actors and their capabilities, we've
witnessed an evolution from data compromise and loss, to the disruption of information
networks to the physical destruction of information systems. Our military forces,
in particular, depend heavily on classified and unclassified networks for command
and control, intelligence, operations and logistics. These networks — over 15,000
of them — represent a very tempting target, and the number of attacks against them
has increased dramatically over the past several years. The United States
Government recognized the clear and present danger posed by this increasingly perilous
threat environment and created United States Cyber Command.
We are at a unique cusp in history, as we have the first-ever opportunity to
create a large-scale organization to fight and win wars in cyber space.
This isn't a trivial undertaking; there are myriad details that must be addressed.
In this article, we focus on what is arguably the most important — the human dimension,
specifically how we attract, develop, and retain a world-class cadre of cyber warriors.
By building the best possible team and creating an environment that attracts more,
we can lay the foundation upon which we can successfully build Cyber Command.
However, while the Defense Department has endorsed Cyber Command, the kinetic warfighting
culture generally has not. Positive strides have been made recently to include the
development of the Navy's Information Dominance Corps and planned establishment
of the Army's Cyber Brigade.
However, building the most effective Cyber Command will require fundamentally
changing military culture — specifically how we think about networks and how we
manage the talent that we need to leverage these networks for warfighting effects.
Uncomfortable, but necessary change will be required, else we risk creating a large
bureaucracy, staffed with marginally effective individuals, a "Cyber Command" in
name only. This article presents a viable way ahead and suggests actionable
solutions for building, developing and retaining a world-class team.
Download the full article:
Recruiting, Development, and Retention of Cyber Warriors Despite an Inhospitable
Culture
LTC Gregory Conti is an Academy Professor and Director of West Point's Cyber
Security Research Center. He holds a BS from West Point, an MS from Johns Hopkins
University and a PhD from the Georgia Institute of Technology, all in Computer Science.
He is the author of Security Data Visualization (No Starch Press) and Googling Security
(Addison-Wesley) as well as over 40 articles covering computer security, online
privacy, and cyber warfare. He is a frequent speaker at leading security conferences
including Defcon, Black Hat, RSA, and Shmoocon. He recently returned from
a deployment as Officer in Charge of Cyber Command's Expeditionary Cyber Support
Element in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
LTC Jen Easterly is a member of the US Cyber Command Commander's Action Group
(CAG). She served as the first Commander of the Army Network Warfare Battalion from
July 08 – July 2010. She holds a BS in International Relations from the United
States Military Academy and an MA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from the
University of Oxford.
