Self-Development for Cyber Warriors

Abstract

Aggressive self-development is a critical task for the cyber warfare professional. No matter the quality, formal training and education programs age poorly when facing the relentless advance of technology and agile adversaries. Self-development serves as a continuous complement to formal training and fosters the currency and depth of expertise a world class cyber workforce demands. Our purpose with this paper is to help each of us, beginner or expert, identify our own personal strengths and weaknesses, and employ time-tested ways for filling the gap between what we know and what we should know. The article is divided into the following sections: Key Categories of Cyber Expertise; Self-Development and Lifetime Learning; Professional Reading (Books and Science Fiction); Technology and Cyber-Related Magazines and Blogs; Specific Cyber Warfare Journal and Magazine Articles; Key Documents on Cyber Doctrine, Policy, and Law; Professional Societies and Local Gatherings; Academic, Military, Government, and Hacker Cyber Security Conferences; Videos and Podcasts; Cyber Domain Movies; Sources for Training, Education, and Certification; and Other Ideas for Gaining Expertise in the Cyber Domain. The article also includes tailored self-development roadmaps for five Military Occupational Specialties: a signals intelligence Colonel (O6), a field grade army automator (O4), a field grade combat arms officer (O5), a senior enlisted intelligence analyst (E7), and a field grade JAG Corps Attorney (O4). Each example contains assumptions about the service member's prior background and experiences. The approach should generalize well and can be tailored to Enlisted, Warrant Officer, and Officer ranks of differing backgrounds and branches of service. The article concludes with a table showing the strengths and weaknesses of the major donor career fields to the cyber workforce, and a Self-Assessment of Cyber Domain Expertise for readers who wish to assess their own cyber warfare expertise.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 10, 2011
Accession Number
ADA552563

Entities

People

  • Gregory Conti
  • Howard Taylor
  • James Caroland
  • Thomas Cook

Organizations

  • United States Military Academy

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Cyber

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Business Administration
  • Computer Networks
  • Cyber Warfare
  • Cybersecurity
  • Cyberspace
  • Cyberspace Operations
  • Doctrine
  • Employment
  • Information Security
  • Information Systems
  • Military History
  • Military Science
  • National Security
  • Personnel Management
  • Social Networking Services
  • Students

Readers

  • Cybersecurity.
  • Military Leadership and Professional Education.
  • Systems Analysis and Design

Technology Areas

  • Cyber