The U.S. Army is recruiting, and according to NWF Daily News, it’s not just frontline soldiers or battlefield commanders that are needed. Rather, the Army is seeking a new generation of cybersecurity experts who can help defend the nation against emerging technology threats. The Army’s Cyber Mission Force (CMF) is looking to get ahead of the curve with new cyber careers, hoping to capture the interest of budding IT professionals looking for long-term employment on the cutting edge of cyberdefense. What is really driving this exponential growth?

Changing Landscape for Cyber Careers

According to James Clapper, the U.S. director of national intelligence, cyberthreats against America are on the rise. In a recent BBC News article, Clapper said he believes cyberthreats from other countries are increasing. On a more positive note, he said he believes a kind of “cyber Armageddon” where cybercriminals compromise large-scale infrastructure is now less likely than “an ongoing series of low- to moderate-level cyberattacks from a variety of sources over time, which will impose cumulative costs on U.S. economic competitiveness and national security.” He also noted a rise in cybercriminals working not in the service of nations, but for profit or ideological reasons.

Meanwhile, Mike J. Rogers, former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, warns that U.S. businesses are at an increasing risk of cyberattacks from nation-states. In a recent Business Insurance article, Rogers said attacks on corporations such as Sony mean “the game has completely changed” and that other countries could “get into this pretty cheap.” The bottom line, Rogers said, is that cyberattacks are far less expensive than physical warfare and will therefore grow in popularity.

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It’s no wonder, then, that Lt. Gen. Edward Cardon says the CMF has grown exponentially over the past few years. According to C4ISR & Networks, 25 of a planned 41 CMF teams have reached their operational capability, and Army Cyber Command (ARCYBER) has 21 Army Reserve cyber teams in development.

“We are on track to have all 41 CMF teams established and operating by the end of fiscal year 2016,” Cardon said.

In an effort to bolster its ranks, the Army is now recruiting both private citizens and encouraging West Point and ROTC cadets to select cyber careers when they graduate. For Cardon, the sheer number of embedded electronic devices is concerning because they “are often integrated into systems which are difficult and costly to update or upgrade as new threats or vulnerabilities are identified with increasing speed and widely ranging tempo.”

Ideally, training enough in-house cyber experts will give ARCYBER the ability to respond proactively to these emerging threats rather than deal with the consequences.

Retention Tension?

While the Army is pushing for new cyber experts to join its ranks, keeping them may be another matter. According to a March 16 Military Times article, while recruiting is on pace — the Army has already reached 75 percent of its annual goal — retention may be more problematic. One source of discord is money. In the private sector, cyber careers routinely pay six-figure salaries and come with a host of perks to capture the best and brightest. The Marine Corps has set aside 16 percent of its total retention bonus budget to help keep its cyber force intact, while the Air Force allows recruits to enter the service at a higher rank if they come in with civilian cybersecurity training. However, though budgets and perks may not be enough, the military has a different end game, said Adm. Michael S. Rogers, chief of U.S. Cyber Command and director of the National Security Agency.

“We are not going to compete on the basis of money,” he said. “Where we’re going to compete is the idea of ethos, culture that you’re doing something that matters.”

Threats to national security are shifting, with the costs and risks associated with physical warfare having prompted a rise in more subtle and subversive cyberattacks. For the U.S. military, this means building a new force that is capable of standing toe-to-toe with cybercriminals and keeping its nation safe. There is a new market for cyber careers, but the Armed Forces has hard work ahead to become an employer of choice.