“There’s a great threat to American security out there in the cyberspace domain, and it's real, it's significant, it's persistent, and we are under attack every day. The defense of our networks is essential for us to conduct all kinds of day-to-day activities – in the commercial sector, in the public sector, in the military sector”, warned Maj. Gen. Michael Basla, vice commander of the Air Force Space Command.
During a DoD Live bloggers roundtable this week, Basla said that to combat the threat, the Air Force is actively recruiting and training a cybersecurity cadre. To fill the demand, the service is easing the requirements for its cybersecurity personnel. They no longer must have technical degrees; they are even letting in social science majors.
“We wanted to have tech, math, science, and engineering degrees, but we were advised that there are some folks that could come from the social sciences that could contribute – you know, something about looking at the problem a little differently. So we've allowed for some exceptions”, the general said.
The Air Force plans to bring in 220 people under a new Air Force cyber cadre, and Air Force schools will graduate another 50 cyber specialists yearly. The new cadre is consolidating 11 existing specialties, including airfield systems maintainers, network operations, and information managers.
In addition, basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas now includes two sections on being a good “cyber wingman” and taking care of the network, and the Air Force Academy now offers a cybersecurity major. “It's hands-on lab work. It's ‘red versus blue forces’ exercises. It is instruction. It is classroom work,” he said.