Pentagon Builds Legion of 'Hacker Soldiers'

US lags behind in cyberwarfare: experts
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted May 31, 2009 10:52 AM CDT
Pentagon Builds Legion of 'Hacker Soldiers'
Northrop Grumman is one of several military contractors with cyber contracts, the Times notes.   (AP Photo/Wong Maye)

Military recruiters may still prize the strapping jock, but military contractors are wooing the scrawny computer geek to join the ranks of young "hacker soldiers" enlisted to defend the US in cyberwarfare, the New York Times reports. Most of the biggest companies, like Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin, have “cyber contracts” with the military, and the Pentagon now has thousands protecting the US against threats and developing offensives of their own.

The US, experts say, is behind in its cybersecurity efforts. “Everybody’s attacking everybody,” says one engineer, 30, for contractor Raytheon. Right now, government spending on cyberwarfare stands at about $10 billion—but it’s likely to soar, say those in the industry, with Pentagon enthusiasm reaching “religious intensity.” “I always approach it like a game, and it’s been fun,” said a 22-year-old Raytheon worker.
(More cyberwarfare stories.)

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