Pentagon to Add Thousands of New Cybersecurity Jobs

Computerworld — The Pentagon is planning to expand its cyber security force nearly five fold over the next several years in a bid to bolster its defensive and offensive computer capabilities.

The plan is to add about 4,000 more troops and civilians to the existing 900 personnel in the Defense Department's Cyber Command, the Washington Post reported today citing several unnamed sources.

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The planned expansion is in response to growing threats against critical U.S. assets in cyberspace, a defense official told Computerworld on Monday.

"As Secretary Panetta stated in his cyber speech last October, we are faced with an increasing threat of a cyber attack that could be as destructive as the terrorist attack on 9/11," the official said. "The department recognizes this growing danger and is working with a sense of urgency to put the right policies and structures in place to enable us to carry out our role."p>

The official said the Department of Defense (DoD) will work closely with U.S. Cyber Command and the Combatant Commands to develop an "optimum force structure" for dealing with emerging cyber threats.

The goal is to create three separate types of cyber forces each tasked with specific roles and responsibilities. The cyber force structure will include Cyber National Mission Forces, Cyber Combat Mission Forces and Cyber Protection Forces, the official noted.

The national force and cyber protect force will focus on addressing threats to critical infrastructure targets and DoD networks respectively. Meanwhile, the combat mission force will be responsible for planning and executing offensive operations and attacks in cyberspace.

"While the basic cyber force structure model is clear, the implementation plan to achieve it is still being developed and is pre-decisional at this time," the official said.

The planned expansion comes amid heightening concerns about U.S. vulnerabilities in cyber space. Many believe that the U.S. is already in the midst of an undeclared and mostly unseen cyberwar directed against it by unfriendly nation states and well-funded highly organized criminal gangs and hactivist groups.

Countries like China and Russia are well ahead of the U.S. in terms of having cyber forces of the kind that the Pentagon is trying to build up, said Alan Paller, director of research at the SANS Institute. The challenge for the DoD will be to find enough qualified cybersecurity professionals to meet its ambitious expansion plans, he said.

"The key to putting the 4,000 in perspective is that every other critical part of the economy also needs the same people -- banks, power companies, telecom, defense contractors, civilian and state government and hospitals."

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