Ted Budd Questions DoD Nominee on Cyber Force Retention and Staying Ahead in Cyber Operations

Attracting and Retaining Cyber Professionals

• 💡 Katherine E. Sutton, nominee for Assistant Secretary of Defense for Cyber Policy, emphasizes that technology is crucial but ineffective without skilled personnel.
• 🔑 The Department of Defense faces challenges in both recruiting and retaining talented cyber professionals.
• 🎯 Retention is driven not just by financial incentives but by providing opportunities to stay on mission and defend the nation.
• 🧠 Many cyber professionals are passionate, thinking about cyber issues 24/7 and securing their own networks, highlighting the need to attract individuals with this dedication and passion.

Staying Ahead in Cyber Operations

• ⚠️ Adversaries like Iran, Russia, North Korea, and especially the PRC pose growing cyber threats.
• 🚀 To stay ahead, the military must empower talented young individuals to develop solutions and leverage U.S. strengths in competitiveness and innovation, particularly in tools like artificial intelligence.
• 🧩 Addressing the "valley of death" between developers and operators is key, by matching them to allow early testing of tools, a model successfully used at Cyber Command through the Constellation program with DARPA.

Scaling Innovations and International Partnerships

• 🤝 Scaling innovations from research projects to DoD-wide programs requires understanding the true needs of warfighters and engaging them early.
• ⚙️ Policies and training must keep pace with the speed of technology, especially for AI, ensuring responsible data use and authorization.
• 🌍 There's a significant opportunity to share the burden of defense with international partners and allies by boosting their cyber capabilities.
• 🌐 The U.S. utilizes tools like hunt forward partnerships to collaborate with foreign nations in identifying and defending against malicious cyber activity.