Cyberknowledge is their contribution to defense

Community or community

The planet has changed. Cyberspace is simply a fresh domain of war activities – says Jakub, a specialist in investigative computing. He decided to join Cyber LEGION out of a sense of civic duty. “I found that if there is simply a request to make the possible of the army, it is worth supporting,” he explains. His cognition and experience can be very useful, for example, in defence of hybrid attacks. “For me, it is not only the administration of average systems and the consequence to incidents, but besides the attitude based on constant vigilance and taking your time to be ready to supply aid at a critical moment,” he says. The cyberspace defence reserve states that the key to this mission is to "be available and ready".

But not only does civic work attract specialists. James and another “legionists” point out that the program gives them the chance to make a professional, cooperate with experts and, above all, build a community. – I can share my cognition and draw from specialists to whom I have direct access within the Cyber LEGION ranks. I met people who were my authority, from whom I learned from the Internet. And present I am in constant contact with them," says Casper, who is active in maintaining the safety of applications and production in critical infrastructure. For years he has been taking part in Locked Shields, the world's largest cyber defence exercises organized by NATO. Joining “legionists” is simply a natural way for him to combine passion for fresh technologies with a sense of work for national security. “This is about bringing together people who are specialised in circumstantial IT sectors. This is simply a place where you truly can find yourself – it encourages others to participate in recruitment.

And Łukasz, who is active in identifying cyber threats in the private sector, adds: "We met at conferences, workshops at most before, and now as reservists, we stand together with soldiers and we can talk as equal as ever. There are no taboo topics.

Colonel Jarosław Wacko of the office of the Cyberspace defence Army, the creator and the individual liable for the task “Cyber LEGION”, admits that the military “structure and hierarchy are different here”.

On call to fight hackers

What is an abstract phenomenon for many is for them all day: detecting hacking attacks, combating online disinformation, educating net users. James, Casper, and Luke were included in a group of 20 volunteers who took a military oath in December and became soldiers of the passive WOC reserve. They're more participants. Ministry of Defence program, which was launched in May and designed so that the "cyberlegionists" do not gotta quit their civilian work. “The military is to be the partner they want to cooperate with”, said Colonel Jarosław Wacko. He explains that as reservists they will be called upon erstwhile necessary, e.g. in case of cyber attacks on a hospital, bank, transport company or another critical infrastructure. “In emergency mode, we are able to repair quickly,” declared the officer.

Previously, volunteers were called up for military exercises including cyberspace issues. In respective teams, they were tasked with creating 3 variants of defensive software that could be utilized in real activities. “We had to appoint a leader in the squad and divide tasks so as to accomplish the goals,” says Luke. He can't talk about details. However, a financial manufacture specialist admits that there have been “very complex problems” to solve. “The ability to communicate, prioritise and make fast decisions was important,” says Jakub.

They agree that all members of the group acted jointly. The 1 who finished working on his part of code then helped a colleague. They worked on laptops until late night hours according to the rule: all hands on deck.

We don't fall asleep in ash

Their software will now be tested during further military exercises. If it works, the army will scope for it in a real crisis situation.

“We do not lock ourselves in a bubble and do not fall asleep in ash,” says Colonel Wacko, who was head of the department for many years to respond to computer incidents. He stresses that Cyber LEGIONE's interest has exceeded the expectations of command. Over 2,000 people have already volunteered, the verification continues. – We already have further groups of volunteers, including from the banking sector, global technology companies. These are people who want to train and exchange knowledge, and we can learn their way of acting," says the officer. The colonel points out that the information systems on which legionaries work all day are different from military systems. Therefore, the acquisition of specialists in various areas of computer discipline is so crucial for building national cyber defence potential.

To strengthen military and Polish cyberspace structures, the WOC Component Command besides focuses on cooperation with leading discipline centres and implements further projects, e.g. national youth competitions "Capture The Flag", which include not only IT professionals and cybersecurity experts, but besides students.