back to article Pentagon plans massive surge in Cyber Command staff

The US military is planning a massive increase in the capabilities of its Cyber Command online-warfare department as it seeks to exert dominance over the digital battlefield. "Given the malicious actors that are out there and the development of the technology, in my mind, there's little doubt that some adversary is going to …

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  1. Ole Juul

    The government versus the people

    Security researchers who have worked with the Pentagon have complained that all too often the government wants to know their security tricks, but isn't willing to share its knowledge or pay the kind of rates that researchers can make in private industry.

    The demographic from which the military is hiring is going to have to change. Will they rise to the occasion and pay professional salaries, or will they just make up a second-rate market of their own? It will be interesting to watch.

    There's also the fact that other government agencies are increasingly targeting the security community for special investigation over the last few years, since WikiLeaks started releasing US State Department cables.

    This is not creating a good environment for soliciting any kind of loyalty - or even sympathy.

    1. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

      AIMODified GCHQ vs ParaMilitarised NSA et El Al Qaeda?

      Quite so, Ole Juul, I concur with all of those valid questions and likely resultant conclusion to be arrived at by anyone duly dutifully diligent and highly proficient in such ethereal fields of virtual endeavour.

      And one does well to remember that in the internet space environment, is quality and not quantity the deciding factor which delivers everything one wishes for, and therefore is this tale an expense which is more another great liability rather than an appreciating asset ...... http://rt.com/usa/news/pentagon-increase-cybersecurity-863/..... and such will most probably also lead to there being a virtual turf war between the CIA and the DOD for required funding of necessary intellectual property holders. Although, of course, is that nothing new at all.

      And of course, is Blighty too also afflicted and effected with its own sub-prime, pork barrel games among ITs puppets and minions/wouldbe muppets and wannabe MPets as is evidenced in the Office of Cyber Security?

      And ...... one can fully expect they/those/that more expert and most able and enabled and enabling in such novel fields, ...... and which are, in both reality and virtual reality, mega metadatabase plays for the capture and even captivity of the hearts and minds of humanity, ........ to constitute and administer a hyper super premium rated market of their own on their own with others of a similar ilk and broad banded bent/sympathetic empathy.

      And, with regard to the government versus the people, rather than their and ITs servering to the people ....... and as one considers the present current states of national, international and internetional Great Game play today, is the following a prescient observation shared well before its time ......

      "We are fast approaching the stage of the ultimate inversion: the stage where the government is free to do anything it pleases, while the citizens may act only by permission; which is the stage of the darkest periods of human history, the stage of rule by brute force." …. Ayn Rand

      However, the megaflawed assumption and presumption there, which renders that Ayn Rand quotation invalid and any government which thinks itself free to do anything it pleases, defeated and self-defeating, is that citizens, both smarter and not so stupid as may have been assumed and presumed, do not act only by permission, for some [who may be all] are Maslowian Self Actuating under totally different circumstances which pay no heed or lip service to existing establishment conditions with diminutive rules and regulations/remote controls

      Welcome to Greater Games, where and in which Bewitching and Advancing Intelligence leads Reality and Humanity on AIMagical Mystery Turing Trips in Future Ventures with Definite Vision and Wholly Sees .... Per Ardua ad MetaAstra Master PilotedD Programs for Export and Import and virtually free licensing abroad in the more imaginative and more sophisticated of round table and administrative regimes/Cabinet Offices and Standing Politburo Committees.

      cc Dodgy Dave and MPet Maude c/o cabinet-office dot gsi dot gov dot uk

      1. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

        Re: AIMODified GCHQ vs ParaMilitarised NSA et El Al Qaeda?

        Methinks the system and media would like you to think that such messaging as posted above [Tuesday 29th January 2013 04:52 GMT] will automatically and almost immediately find its way to wherever they need to be for a suitable response and reply .... in order not to reveal epic fails. More anon on that as time progresses and flies by, should it be appropriate and of greater interest to the greater good ie Mutually Beneficial to All.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: The government versus the people

      "The demographic from which the military is hiring is going to have to change. Will they rise to the occasion and pay professional salaries, or will they just make up a second-rate market of their own?"

      So the rat-bag of hackers complain that the military "isn't willing to share its knowledge", what do they expect? I'd imagine being any sort of spook is a lonely, one-sided existence, in which you contribute, but rarely receive. That follows the time honoured tradition of "need to know", but understandably doesn't go down well with the children of the internet (tm).

      Unfortunately, that probably means that the people that have the necessary skills, and who are also used to working in rooms without windows, and not going to conferences, or talking down the pub about your day at work, well, they're currently employed by crooks or are serving time. Subject to the authorities having caught enough cyber crims, I can see the Pentagon staffing up through serious plea bargaining or parole offers, and in that case they're not going to be terribly worried about the wages.

      And that way the Pentagon won't have to pander to prima donna hackers, sniffing that they aren't paid enough, or that they have a right to know what's going on.

    3. John Brown (no body) Silver badge
      Thumb Up

      Re: The government versus the people

      pay the kind of rates that researchers can make in private industry."

      One might think that one might work for civil services wages in the defence of ones country out of an overwhelming sense of duty and patriotism rather than demanding $350k per year and a constant flow of pizza.

  2. JaitcH
    FAIL

    Many ... are feeling little love for the US government at the moment

    Got that right!

    This ill-feeling towards things American even affects backpackers safety with people really upset even attacking US citizens and corporations.

    Perhaps if the US pulled it's horns in, stopped droning people and acted positively like a global citizen should, the US profile would reduce along with attacks.

    Operating torture centres like Guantanamo should doesn't endear the US to anyone, nor does illegal rendition, or demanding the production of people to answer charges in the US rather than in the country in which the 'crime' was committed.

    These bastards have even ordered Canadians to be removed from direct Canada <> Canada flights, flights that never landed at a US airport. Why does it need ALL the flight manifests for ALL flights from Bangkok, even for flights terminating in the region?

    Why does it need to track money movements, internationally, of all people. If money travels from the UK to Greece or Thailand, what the hell business is it of the US? All the res systems that have computers in the US are on-line, in real time as are credit card transactions and hotel reservations - world-wide.

    Why does the US need military bases in the UK, or anywhere in Europe? There are literally thousands of mini-bases in numerous countries that aren't well known.

    Their DEA and FBI types swagger around guest countries, advertising their presence to all and sundry, seemingly ignoring the niceties of diplomacy. The Australian national police also have offices in many Asian countries but they show respect to their host countries maintaining a low, non-disruptive profile.

    Why is the new US Embassy in London so large? The number of real diplomats are few in number but the security related people are massive. And Britain is a friendly country?

    Obama shed tears for children killed in December, yet he routinely authorises attacks on children, women and men who have absolutely no links to this phantom war on terrorism. These were crocodile tears, IMO. His idea of 'colloquial damage' can be measured in miles/kilometres.

    So when the US stops doing the World Cop stunt, lowers it's profile and stops saying it is the best perhaps they will suffer fewer attacks. And be more popular.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    This is a good step forward

    With any luck the Yanks will be locking up more hackers and pirates soon. These criminals should all do mandatory jail time and be seriously fined.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: This is a good step forward

      Ah, you're back. Happy New year.

  4. frank ly

    I love the smell of mission creep in the morning

    "US companies and those international companies that use American-hosted services won't be touched."

    "There's no intent to have the military crawl inside industry or private networks and provide that type of security,"

    (For now .....)

  5. Atonnis
    Trollface

    Who gives a donkeys...

    .....just admit it! Go on, ADMIT IT! You'd work for FREE just to work in a place called 'Cyber Command'.

    I know all you commentards all felt that little knot twist in your gut when you read it.

    1. charlie-charlie-tango-alpha

      Re: Who gives a donkeys...

      Actually, no I would not. Not ever.

  6. R 16
    Thumb Up

    Dear Pentagon,

    Hi!

  7. dssf

    4,900

    One of the staffers or interns must be a US football fan of a certain San Fransideshow team...., why not just say, "5,000", as the actual number will surge then ebb, then rise again for various reasons (payrolls, basing, housing costs, transportation, reassignments, automation, de-automation, etc...)?

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