NORFOLK (NNS) — Navy Cyber Defense Operations Command's (NCDOC) commanding officer spoke at the Hampton Roads Chapter of the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association's (AFCEA) monthly luncheon April 14.
Capt. Douglas Powers delivered the audience his unique perspective on cyber-intrusion attempts into Navy networks, noting that the Navy receives millions of alerts on a daily basis, which is a number that only continues to grow.
"Cyberspace is man-made and virtual, and so it therefore can be manipulated by man. Since there will always be attempts to exploit cyberspace vulnerabilities, cyber network defenders must not only expect unwanted visitors, but also embrace and shape the experience of intruders," said Powers.
He used the analogy of the Navy warship, depicting how it has proven it can take hits and stay afloat while well trained Sailors "fight through it."
"We must not only train our Sailors and civilians to operate as warriors to actively defend our networks with warfighting procedures, but we must also establish our networks as resilient warfighting platforms," said Powers.
During the event, AFCEA also honored NCDOC's outstanding Sailors with both individual and group awards.
Information Systems Technician 3rd Class Brian Garay was honored with the award of Military Cyber Professional of the Month, recognizing his recent and past accomplishments.
Garay's award was given for setting a superb example in leading the NCDOC Help Desk, with major contributions spanning from the command's cyber security inspection responsibilities to supporting some of the largest defensive cyber operations in Naval history.
NCDOC's Media and Malware Analysis (MMA) division were also honored with the "Cyber Professionals Team" award.
The MMA recipients were Cryptologic Technician (Networks) 2nd Class (CTN2) Michael Williams, CTN2 Matthew Defir, CTN2 Michael Lyles, CTN2 Bryce Wilson, CTN2 Hannah Roberson, CTN2 Linda Merrill, CTN2 Mark Pavelchak, and Montez Williams.
The MMA division provided rapid incident response for a recent high profile advanced persistent threat (APT). They also dedicated 85 off duty hours to ensure continuous analysis of 160 gigabytes of malicious files, logs, and forensic evidence. The division additionally completed two Cyber Tactical Team missions in response to Host Based Security System alerts aboard two naval ships.
Powers said, "These extremely intelligent, tenacious cyber warriors represent some of the finest Sailors in our great Navy. The work they perform on a daily basis is truly remarkable. I'm proud to serve with them and also really glad they are on our team!"
NCDOC's mission is to coordinate, monitor and oversee the defense of Navy computer networks and systems and accomplish Computer Network Defense (CND) missions that commanders, U.S. 10th Fleet and U.S. Cyber Command assign.
For more news from Commander, U.S. Fleet Cyber Command/U.S. 10th Fleet, visit www.navy.mil/local/FCCC10F/.