Cybersecurity in today's armed forces

9      CompTIA and Microsoft, as part of their advocacy program, have announced via press release their intent to partner up in an effort to ease military to civilian career transition.      This move will enable the more than 35,000 service members that transition, or have transitioned, from active duty to a higher-paying career in the IT workforce.  The Microsoft Software and Systems Academy (MSSA), the flagship of the initiative, will consist of an 18-week training program designed to teach service members the critical skills required to be successful in today’s IT industry.   Upon successful completion, candidates will be guaranteed an interview at Microsoft or with one of more than 220 hiring partners.      This is a welcome and unprecedented move on the part of Microsoft and CompTia.   As a former transitioning veteran it is “too little, too late”.   However, current transition veterans can absolutely take advantage of this opportunity.   And the fact that Net

8      As of April 2015, we continue to see ongoing interest in building up defenses again cyber-attacks both domestic and foreign in nature.   This is a breath of fresh air for those of us who keep abreast of threats and potential threats to our national network infrastructure.   What’s even more of a “relief” is that there is an actual document, produced by the Department of Defense, which outlines measures and areas of concern in regards to our cyber strategy.   No longer are we left wondering about who is taking lead on this ever growing concern not just on a national, but global scale as well.      This 42 page report outlines goals, objectives, and strategy management.   Perusing through the contents I came upon one of the more interesting tenets of the report, goal III, the preparation of defenses of the U.S. homeland and vital interests from disruptive or destructive cyber attacks of significance consequence.   The goal is to work closely with inter-agency partners and

7 Kim Jong-un and company are at it again.   This time critical military contingency plans were lifted by North Korean hackers in September of last year!   How’s that for military OpSec!?   The leak, which consisted of 235 gigabytes data, has not yet been fully identified.   So far, only about 80 percent of the data is known and it is clear that the ramifications of this breach have already been felt.   Increasing tension with North Korea is more than likely an outcome of this.   A “decapitation” plan, which is said to include the blueprint to remove Kim Jong-un from power should war break out on the peninsula, was also compromised. As confirmed by one of the members of the defense committee of the National Assembly, 300 lower-classification confidential documents were stolen (Sang-Hun, 2017) .   Other lawmakers like Defense Ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun and Pentagon spokesman Col. Robert Manning, have not been so forthcoming with information about the breach.   This com

6 Ah, October is upon us.   Ugg boots, pumpkin spice everything, and the changing of the leaves.   But not everything is as it seems my dear readers.   In the shadows lie threats that can affect us all.   If you’ve been following the news, you know that former Equifax CEO and current pariah, Richard Smith was recently publicly chastised in front of Congress for his inept handling of the security breach that exposed over 140 million of us.   You also know that in true CEO fashion, this “upstanding citizen” passed the buck to ONE IT guy!   Here are some tips on how to not become the “fall” guy. Always secure your Common Access Card.   It does not matter if you are going to the printer four cubicles down or not.   Pull it out of the reader, ensure your PC locks, and go retrieve your document or do whatever it is you have to do.   An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Create a strong password of at least 15 characters and combining upper case, lower case, numbers, and