AFSEC helps plan for culture of cyber safety

  • Published
  • By Argen Duncan
  • Nucleus editor
KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  Personnel at the Kirtland-headquartered Air Force Safety Center are creating a plan to engrain good cyber security habits in every member of the Air Force.

Last March, Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. Mark A. Welsh III established Task Force Cyber Secure to identify the risks in cyber space and develop a culture in which Airmen understand what they need to do to protect the Air Force in that domain. Task force members, who are spread across the Air Force, are scheduled to present recommendations this March.

AFSEC military personnel, civilians and contractors are on Team Cyber Assure, one of 12 teams within that task force. Everything, all missions at Kirtland and across the Air Force, as well as everyday life, involves cyber space, team members said.

"Just imagine a day without your computer or your phone," said team member Maj. James Souders. "That's the importance of this."

Team leader Mark Glissman said Airmen don't generally understand the definition of cyber space, the Air Force's mission in it or safe operational procedures.

"Nine times out of 10, our problems are caused by ourselves," he said.

Team member Master Sgt. Jared Ortiz said the 12 teams share information and vet ideas weekly. Glissman said each team has 50 to 75 people.

He said the task force must create cyber space definitions and decide what framework needs to be in place to educate everyone in the Air Force on cyber safety.

"What we're doing is looking to change a culture," Souders said.

For example, Airmen know they can keep a gun at home but not at work on base, and they know the punishment if they break that rule. The same needs to become true of thumb drives, which can introduce viruses into a computer system, Glissman said.

Souders referred to the end product as a "cyber culture road map."

Airmen will be sorted into the categories of leader, cyber warrior, provider and user, with most being users.

"Members of those personnel categories will be treated uniquely," said Maj. Bruce Hill, another team member.

Also, he said new Airmen must learn how cyberspace enables the Air Force mission and activities, and understand cyber vulnerabilities and threats they may face.

Some groups will need more training than others, Glissman said. In this case, he said, the senior leaders will need more training because the computer world is less familiar to them, in contrast to young Airmen who grew up immersed in it.

Souders said the process to creating the roadmap began with gathering information and looking at ideas, and then moved to analyzing and sorting out what was relevant. The task force is now developing findings and recommendations.

The fourth phase, implementation, could take up to a decade, Glissman said. It will involve major changes, including building new centers and modifying training.

The cyber security education needs to happen in basic training, at professional military education sites and throughout Airmen's careers, said contractor John Sanders.

Glissman said the education would need to help Airmen really understand the risks in cyber space.

All military branches are finding ways to improve cyber security, a Department of Defense priority, he said. The Air Force's work will impact DoD policies and procedures.

Glissman said cyberspace and outer space are the next battlefields.

"If we don't learn to deal with those, we're going to lose," he said.