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Joint Center At Scott AFB Helps Protect Against Persistent Cyberattacks

(Courtesy: USTRANSCOM)

Cybersecurity is especially vital to the nation's military. Last year U.S. Transportation Command at Scott Air Force Base formed the Joint Cyber Center "in recognition of cyberspace as a warfighting domain. "

Colonel Tom Clancy is Chief of the Joint Cyber Center at Scott Air Force Base. He said that during routine sweeps in 2011, more than 44,000 "attempted accesses to systems" at U.S. Transportation Command were discovered. That number quadrupled in 2012.  

Despite the only recent creation of the Joint Cyber Center, Clancy said the structure has been in place for some time. "The military is a fairly regimented organization and it is difficult to change how we do things...I am very proud of how the organization has gone after this problem," Clancy said. 

As a contractor working for the National Security Agency, Edward Snowden had access to confidential and sensitive information. Like the NSA, the Joint Cyber Center employs civilians as well as military personnel. Being a part of that team, said Clancy, requires a lot of trust.

"Trust and the relationship is sometimes more important than the technology that is in place," Clancy said of working cybersecurity in conjunction with civilians. 

St. Louis on the Air provides discussion about issues and concerns facing the St. Louis area. The show is produced by Mary Edwards and Alex Heuer and hosted by veteran journalist Don Marsh.

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