They can program, face hackers. They know about cryptology and the possibilities of artificial intelligence. Now they'll usage their skills to work for the army without abandoning civilian life. Cyber LEGION is simply a fresh initiative of cyberspace defence troops to benefit from the cognition and experience of the best experts on the market.
The initiative was born in the cybersecurity community, integrated around the Locked Shields exercises held annually. Although organised by NATO, they are attended by both soldiers and civilian experts. – In Poland, our community is not very large, it is respective 100 people. We know each another or at least we know each other. We meet not only at Locked Shields, but besides at various conferences. We've noticed WOC, how large is this potential, and we wondered how we could usage it," said Colonel Jarosław Wacko, chief specialist in the Cyberspace defence Army Command, who is liable for the Cyber LEGION project.
It started with worker mobilization allowances. Anyone who has passed military qualifications is assigned to a circumstantial unit and position in case of mobilization or war. – It turned out that these prominent cyber-security experts in the event of a war would become drivers, for example, due to the fact that they were so assigned erstwhile they had not yet had circumstantial professional plans. This is simply a waste of their potential, so we proposed to give them mobilization allocations to the office of the Cyberspace defence Component, due to the fact that they will be more needed there," Colonel Wacko says. The program was yet developed, which will let now benefit from the cognition and experience of top civilian marketplace experts.
Cyber LEGION – support for troops in crisis situations
The authoritative name of this initiative is “The Polish “cyber” community consolidation programme around the Armed Forces of Poland and cyberspace defence troops – Cyber LEGION”, which well reflects its guiding idea. The main presumption is enabling cybersecurity to engage in military work all day in a flexible form that does not require the abandonment of civilian life. The full is included in 12 tasks. 1 of the most crucial is Cyber-BACKUP, in which cyber specialists will be given the chance to supply immediate and coordinated support to the army in case of serious and extended cyber attacks targeting the most crucial ICT infrastructure of the country, specified as health, energy, transport, finance, etc.
– The military oath has just taken the first 20 people to make Cyber-BACKUP. We called them in for military practice earlier. From now on, they will be soldiers of the passive reserve of DKWOC. This means that We can call them to practice., and to serve, if necessary, for example in the case of cyber attacks on critical infrastructure. We cannot let civilians to do specified actions, but the reservists do so," Colonel Wacko explains.
The officer admits that Cyber-BACKUP is simply a way for the army to benefit from the support of prominent specialists whose permanent employment on military posts would not be possible. Among them are people with many years of experience, frequently owners of companies, business creators who have been successful in civilians, so it is hard to anticipate them to quit all of this. Colonel emphasizes that no 1 comes to Cyber LEGION for money – this people who want to do something for national security. And there will be plenty of opportunities to engage in work for the country.
12 tasks for cyber legionaries
Employee mobilization allocations and Cyber-BACKUP are just the beginning. In total, the military offers 12 different tasks for cyber specialists. This is an chance for training among the best in Cyber-GYM – the military will invitation you to participate in exercises, including Locked Shields. For specialists who are not yet ready for specified commitment or have a wellness category another than A, the programme "Not only A(arms)" is prepared. It will besides let persons who, for various reasons, cannot or do not yet hesitate to enter the active or passive WOC reserve.
The military besides launches a program to support the cyber resilience of the national defence department's ICT systems within the Hack the Army task – experts will be able to usage their skills to testing of government systems to find possible safety gaps. As part of the task, E-Sport launches a program to support the improvement of artificial intelligence for defence purposes and drone techniques. There is besides a way for those who would like to gain an officer's degree.
For experts and talented students
Who can become a cyber legionnaire? Cybersecurity is simply a very complex area. We are looking for specialists in operating systems, network systems, website security, artificial intelligence, burglary analysis, as well as industrial automation, due to the fact that the military now buys quite a few very modern equipment – Colonel Wacko mentions. As he emphasizes, Cyber LEGION will have a place for both recognised experts and young people who are only at the beginning of the professional path.
DKWOC wants to make cooperation with educational institutions to search for talented young people and support their development, including through participation in conferences or workshops. All information is available on the website (link https://cyberlegion.wp.mil.pl/).
