The United States Military Academy at West Point is setting up a new cyber warfare research institute for elite cyper troops. According to Army Times, the organization, called the Army Cyber Institute, will study all aspects of cyber warfare and serve as an important tool for the Army’s digital operations.
“It’s a very exciting time,” said Col. Greg Conti, the organization’s director. “It feels a bit like we’re at the birth of the Air Force, like we’re that kind of historic era.”
As Army Times reports, the institute will examine how cyber warfare is staged in order to provide information and direction for the Army. The organization will be comprised of experts in cybersecurity and cyber operations, along with psychologists, attorneys, policy experts, mathematics experts, and historians.
“I think we’re building a unique team that’s never been done before,” Conti said. “People think of technology, and maybe policy, but it’s never been done before in this holistic way.”
According to Army Times, cyber experts would rotate through the institution as students and faculty in order to gain a broad, nuanced perspective of cyber warfare and security.
The idea for the new institute at West Point originated from a Jan. 7 National Press Club talk by Raymond T. Odierno, Chief of Staff of the Army.
“As a national issue, this is about our ability to protect our financial networks, our infrastructure, and it’s an important issue,” he said. “We have to recognize this is a new way for people to potentially influence what’s going in in the United States, so it’s incumbent upon us to improve our capability.”
