U.S. Coast Guard (USCG)

History

2021: Introduction of Officer IT Positions

At the end of September 2021, the Coast Guard announced the launch of a program to attract cybersecurity specialists to their departments as officers. IT positions have been created to perform tasks related to information security, information technology development and cyber threat intelligence.

We involve them as part of our direct commissioning program for engineers, our IT departments. And in 2022, we will directly commission employees into the US Coast Guard to carry out an IT-related operation. We take our best and most capable privates and give them the opportunity to join the ranks of officers, "said Rear Admiral Michael Ryan, commander of the cyber department of the US Coast Guard.

US Coast Guard introduces officer IT positions

According to Ryan, the direct cybersecurity commission program, which was introduced on September 24, 2021, will begin with a small number of specialists and will focus on attracting talented people inside the service.

The programme is open to candidates between the ages of 21 and 41 who have valid admission to service and can, among other things, undergo a structured physical training programme and meet the requirements for education and work experience if they come from outside. The requirements for education and work experience are somewhat different for candidates who come from the ranks of the ordinary coast guard.

The Coast Guard has long struggled with aging IT infrastructure and the proliferation of cybersecurity threats. The service, which in 2021 updated its cyber strategy, seeks to expand its cyber warfare and in its budget request for 2022 asks for $12 million to finance a third cyber defense group to work with cyber specialists at the most important ports of entry. Other military services, including the army, use direct commissioning to strengthen their technical personnel.^[1]

2019: Ransomware Virus Attack

At the end of December 2019, the US Coast Guard base was attacked by a ransomware virus that disabled cameras, door access control systems, and monitoring systems.

The cyber attack on the base was carried out using the Ryuk malware, which hit the network through email. Once an employee activated a link embedded in the email, the virus accessed and encrypted critical files that were on the corporation's network. As a result of cyber attacks, the base system failed for more than 30 hours.

The US Coast Guard base was attacked by a ransomware virus that disabled cameras, door access control systems, and monitoring systems

This cyber attack is only the latest in a series of specialized ransomware attacks, "says the executive director of SonicWall, a cybersecurity company. - Although the total number of ransomware attacks decreased by 10% by November 2019, the attacks themselves become more accurate and aimed at profitable enterprises, as well as government and military assets. "

Stuart Reed, vice president of cybersecurity at Nominet Domain Registrar, noted that the spread of ransomware viruses turned out to be one of the most destructive forms of cyber attacks in 2019.

Given the huge number of e-mails with links sent over the network, reducing the risk of cyber attacks becomes a difficult task. This reminds us of the importance of a multi-level approach to cybersecurity, "Reed explained. - While access control should limit the ability of intruders, and reliable backups can restore systems as soon as possible, it is also necessary to train employees to quickly identify and eliminate threats. Each organization must have a robust intrusion response plan in place to ensure that systems are restored quickly.[2]

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