TROY ? Despite what is said publicly, the United States does not have the capabilities to defend the nation from a cyberattack launched by a foreign government, or organized crime, Brigadier General Michael A. Stone, the assistant adjutant general, Army National Guard, told a large audience at Walsh College Wednesday night.
Stone, the keynote at the first Walsh College Center for Cybersecurity Leadership conference, said 80 percent of the nation?s critical infrastructure ? electric utilities, water-treatment plants, dams and more ? are in private hands and the federal government does not have the power to defend the grid during a cyberattack. He said that?s why it is critical for the private sector to dramatically upgrade its cyber defense capabilities to deter rogue countries, like North Korea, from launching a Sony-like cyberattack that could disable the nation?s electric transmissions lines, water systems, as well as a host of similar pieces that touch everyday life.
But perhaps the most critical threat to the nation?s infrastructure is the shortage of trained cybersecurity professionals to man all these cyber warrior posts, in part, because most colleges and universities don?t have cybersecurity as a curriculum, he said. He urged universities and colleges to pay closer attention to this huge new high-paying job market and create the classes to train army and civilian cyber warriors.
The security threat is very real and always very close. For instance, in Warren, the U.S. Army Tank Automotive, Research, Development and Engineering Center, which employees thousands, poses a juicy target for a cyberattack by a wide group of countries and organizations that have sophisticated cyber capabilities, Stone said.
To underscore how seriously the federal government takes the threat of a cyber attack on a very large scale, military leaders at the Pentagon are now talking about creating a fifth branch ? Cyber Command.
But developing this new branch of the military may be difficult because of a looming manpower shortage. Stone said most of the military cyber warriors who were trained when the program was started four years ago are now up for reenlistment. The question is will they leave for more lucrative jobs in the private sector where their skills are so prized? If they do leave, they have to be replaced.
With a governor who was a very successful technology venture capitalist and a self-acknowledged ?Geek,? Michigan’s cyber training and recruitment efforts are pointed in the right direction, Stone said. Gov. Snyder gets it, he said, and is the driving force behind making Michigan a magnet for unclassified cyber security expertise and businesses to provide cybersecurity services. As Michigan becomes known for these capabilities, the state could recruit cyber warriors from outside the state, Stone said.
Besides expanding the cyber security curriculum in Michigan, educators need to get more high school kids interested in careers in cybersecurity. Stone even recommended this outreach extend down to Sixth Grade students.
?When I was asked what an engineer was when I was 17, I thought it was the guy who drove the train,? he said.
But now he understands the threat ? one he described as both an economic and national fight and what it means to America’s future as a First World economic power. ?If we don?t have a workforce that wakes up,” Stone said, “we could lose our economic status.?
