Threat Management

Pentagon short-handed in fight against cyber attackers

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The Pentagon is in desperate need of reinforcements to prepare to fight in cyberspace with many of its most highly qualified security experts leaving the military for better paying jobs.

The Defense Department has only about one-third of the researchers needed to test U.S. weapons for potential cyber weaknesses, according to a Pentagon document obtained by The Daily Beast. Citing higher pay in the private sector, with 2015 seeing many cyber experts leaving the Defense Department.

A group of 25 lawmakers led by Rep. Jackie Speier, a member of the house Armed Services Committee, wrote a letter to Secretary of Defense Ash Carter, obtained by the Daily Beast, encouraging him to reverse this trend.

"We strongly urge you to adopt enhanced measures to attract, train, and retain such personnel. Such cyberattacks could result in significant damage to the weapons systems and information networks that we rely on for our national security," the letter stated.

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