Computer Network Defense Team trains to quietly safeguard Florida

Photo By Staff Sgt. Derrol Fulghum | The Florida National Guard's Computer Network Defense Team use this mobile network to run simulated cyber attacks during training exercises. Their most recent one took place the last week of January in Tallahassee.  

TALLAHASSEE, FL, UNITED STATES

02.02.2016

Story by Staff Sgt. Derrol Fulghum 

107th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Most Floridians realize the National Guard is a part of their state. They may recognize that these Soldiers and Airmen are there to help in an emergency or, they may see their Guard as the warriors fighting overseas and protecting their inalienable rights.

While all of these are true, a part of the Florida National Guard the citizens may not see are those who protect them virtually. While not as visible, the work these Guardsmen do is just as vital.

The CND-T (Computer Network Defense Team) is an eight-Soldier team responsible for ensuring the various state departments and the Florida National Guard are able to work together in the event of an emergency. Its mission also involves protecting the information systems of the Florida National Guard.

“Even when we aren’t at drill, we have a presence,” said Maj. Oscar Torres, the CND-T commander. “Most of us do some facet of this in our civilian lives, but we also help the full-time troops ensure their networks are secure.”

The CND-T used six different types of cyber-attacks during an exercise with agencies from the state. A Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack is an attempt to make an online service unavailable by overwhelming it with traffic from multiple sources. Cross Site Scripting (XSS) is another possible threat. Using XSS, an attacker doesn’t target a direct victim, but instead a website the victim may visit. The attacker would exploit a vulnerability in the website and use that as a vehicle to deliver malicious code to the victim’s browser. These are just a couple of the threats that face the Florida National Guard’s computer systems every day.

“Building the relationships between the Department of Military Affairs and these state agencies is really the point of these exercises,” said Capt. Michael Southerland, the assistant CND team chief. “When you’re dealing with cyber incidents, it’s unlike any other state emergency.”

To accomplish their mission, the CND-T boasts an impressive mobile Cyber Security Center. The truck holds an incredible server rack (a structured series of stacked computers which work in tandem and act as a hub) capable of running this type of simulation on a much larger scale if required.

According to Southerland, the exercise involved mock incursions from hacktivist groups, terrorist organizations and nation states. The types of attacks varied from disrupting communications to data mining.
What the citizens of Florida can be assured of is that no matter what the role our Guardsmen take on, you can rest assured they are taking care of you.

• Date Taken: 02.02.2016
• Date Posted: 02.02.2016 09:03
• Story ID: 187670
• Location: TALLAHASSEE, FL, US