The demand for cyber-related jobs in the US military is “very high,” US Army cyber unit official Maj. Gen. Paul Stanton said.
Speaking at this year’s Association of the US Army conference, the commanding general of Army Cyber Center of Excellence said that for every cyber position available, 10 candidates apply.
With the luxury of a big pool of aspiring cyber warriors, Stanton assured that the army’s recruiting arm has been careful in choosing the most qualified candidates.
One of the criteria is to have a sufficient understanding of how data flows from a tactical edge environment.
“You don’t have to be an expert in each step of the data flow,” Stanton explained. “But you have to understand that environment.”
College Students Taking Interest
Stanton said he is seeing college freshmen and sophomores interested in becoming a part of the army cyber force.
In fact, some of them are already aligning their curriculum and activities to be strong candidates as cyber officers in the future.
They are also willing to ensure a high GPA to have a better chance at being recruited because the selection process is “incredibly competitive.”
Increasing Threats
Washington’s efforts to bolster cyber defense capabilities come as near-peer adversaries continue to pose threats to the country’s cyber resilience.
Last month, the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued an advisory regarding a China-linked cybercriminal group called BlackTech.
The group reportedly disrupts router software without being detected and exploits domain trust relationships between an organization’s administrator and users.
The US Department of Defense also acknowledged that China and Russia are “broad and pervasive” cyber-espionage threats capable of secretly monitoring American citizens.
It said the two countries are prepared to fully utilize cyberspace in case a war breaks out.