U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo -- A construction project to make room for the Air Force's future cyber innovation center in McDermott Library is slated to begin in July, but officials at the Air Force Academy say the AFICIC is already preparing.
“We have everything we need to advance the Air Force’s cyber capabilities today: a staff, office space and high-tech equipment,” said Jim Solti, the Academy’s chief scientist. “Our official facility might not open until 2017, but we’re hard at work preparing for our first project, scheduled to kick off during the fall term, with an intent focus on the center's mission statement and vision. Essentially, we’re coordinating with the operational customers, industry partners and across the Academy to ensure we hit the ground running.”
The project may not start until July, but today, cyber experts from the Academy, the Air Force and public-industry, are preparing to conduct the center’s business of advancing the Air Force’s cyber capabilities from in Fairchild Hall.
“We're getting to work after years of planning,” Solti said. “Resources are flowing in: people, manpower, physical space and state-of-the-art equipment.”
Solti said the center will increase education across the Air Force about the complexities of the online battlefield.
“We’re looking to tackle a challenging problem plaguing our operational cyber teams at the 24th Air Force: How can computer experts simply and effectively convey highly technical threat data to commanders and decision makers who don't ‘speak cyber’?”
The 24th Air Force, based at Joint Base San Antonio, Texas, has consolidated its cyberspace combat and support forces. “They’re the ‘trigger pullers’ when it comes to the Air Force’s day-to-day fight in the cyber trenches,” Solti said.
The Academy’s endeavors, similar to the efforts at Air Force Space Command at Peterson Air Force Base and the National Cybersecurity Intelligence Center, will focus on network defense and intelligence gathering for public and private entities. Gov. John Hickenlooper announced in January that Colorado Springs would be home to the NCIC.
Solti said the high interest in the center’s potential among Air Force and industry officials, makes it an exciting time for the Academy.
In February, Academy’s Superintendent Lt. Gen. Michelle Johnson said cyber warfare is the leading threat in the U.S. because hacking is simple and cheap. Nations, criminal groups and disgruntled individuals can launch a cyberattack at the cost of an Internet connection and laptop, she said.
Last summer, Air Force Chief of Information Lt. Gen. William Bender, met with IT leaders in Silicon Valley, California, to address the challenges of cyberspace throughout the Air Force and to improve collaboration between the service and its industry partners.
The AFCIC will address and discover new tools and techniques to keep and gain the advantage in cyberspace, and help cyber experts visualize the IT battlefield, Solti said.
“We can’t underestimate the seriousness of this task,” he said. “It boils down to how we fly, fight and win in cyberspace.”