Fighting the First Battle of Cyberspace Preparedness: Finding Your Reserve Cyber-Warriors

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Abstract:

One of the key resources needed for a nation-state or its military organizations to successfully operate in the cyberspace domain of operations is qualified people. But this is a resource that is universally recognized to be in very short supply. The military competes with other governmental entities and with a private sector that holds qualified cyber security and cyber operations professionals in high regard and which can offer salaries and benefits beyond those that can be offered by most governments. One of the unique potentials that military organizations can consider is supplementing its active-duty and full-time civilian cyber warriors with a reserve component. Virtually all non-cyber military organizations have successfully developed the capability to supplement active duty personnel with reservists. The cyber domain offers the potential to do the same, but also to think innovatively to compete for the limited supply of qualified personnel. This article examines some outside-the-box concepts for building and maintaining a cyber-force reserve component.