Image courtesy of Engadget
The next-generation of U.S. armed forces’ cyber warriors will be a breed apart from their “drop and gimme 50” compatriots, insinuated top US Lieutenant General Robert Brown when he suggested that eliminating the military’s fitness requirements is the only way to staff the cyber division with top talent.
In light of the growing security threats from foreign nations like Russia, Iran, China, and North Korea, the U.S. military looks to attract “hackers” from the Internet generation by sparing them from the rigors of combat training.
“We need to give serious consideration to how the US Army could combine the technical expertise of the ‘Google’ generation with its more traditional military skills. In order to gain an intellectual advantage over adversaries in cyberspace, we will need to tap into a talent pool that may not fit the stereotypical soldier profile. Our goal is to recruit the best talent possible,” said Lt Gen Brown in a briefing of the New American Foundation.
Lt Gen Brown added that ideal candidates are not typically a natural fit for a military career, alleging that they wear hoodies and ponytails. Earlier this year, the FBI voiced similar staffing concerns and hinted at the possibility of lowering the rigidness of their drug policy to recruit skilled computer scientists and programmers, whom the agency claimed have rate of marijuana use beyond the cut-off point.
On a similar note, Britain’s Ministry of Defense is going as far as to recruit convicted hackers to join its cyber reserve, assuming the candidates can pass the security clearing. Lt Col Michael White, commander of the UK’s new Joint Cyber Unit (Reserve) has gone on record to say that his department will evaluate candidates “on the round,” focusing more on “capability development” rather than “personality traits.”
Thomas Rid, a reader in War Studies at King’s College in London, argues that overlooking undesirable traits in order to procure top candidates is not sufficient. To develop a deep level of specialist expertise in an area, militaries’ cyber division must adopt a career structure modeled after Intelligence agencies; one that places less emphasis on rotating through many jobs.
Disclaimer: EP recognizes that not all basement dwellers sport ponytails
Source: Engadget via The Telegraph
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