1. Summary
The United States has been engaged in cybersecurity for over a generation, but there continues to be organizational and human gaps that leave the nation insecure.
We propose the creation of a Civilian Cybersecurity Corps as an innovative answer to many of these key needs. The organization would be modeled after a blend of cybersecurity organizations in other nations and proven models in other domains of security and safety inside the United States, specifically the Civil Air Patrol, Coast Guard Auxiliary, or Volunteer Firefighters. The goal would be to better involve and mobilize the wider community in tackling core needs that are unlikely to be met through existing structures.
Functioning as an auxiliary of the Department of Homeland Security, it would augment existing programs to raise the security level of the ecosystem writ-large and provide additional needed resources on three key areas:
- Education and Outreach
- Testing, Assessments, and Exercises
- On Call Expertise and Emergency Response
In this piece, we will first explore the organizational landscape that drives the need for such a program, second, summarize lessons that can be learned from other similar programs, and third, describe how such an organization could be constructed and launched in a relatively low cost, low risk manner.
With cyber threats only growing, and present approaches clearly insufficient, it is time for new ideas…and new organizations.