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Cyber attack

Guard more than up to the task

Col. Gent Welsh talks with a group of Royal Thai Air Force officers after a meeting at the Information and Communication Technology headquarters building, March 24, at Don Mueng Airbase. Photo credit: Capt. Joseph Siemandel

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In 2013, Americans ranked cyber attacks as the top threat to the country, second in danger to the current class of terrorists.

This year in a recent Pew Research Center poll, ISIS and Iran's nuclear arms program polled first while cyber attacks ranked second, placing ahead of global economic instability, infectious diseases, refugees and climate change.

While both current presidential candidates have been silent about the threat, others are working to confront and defeat the threat of a cyber attack.

But the threat is there, and it is daunting.

"Every day, and every minute, there is someone waking up, turning on his or her computer, and finding ways to attack this country," wrote Col. Gent Welsh, chief of staff, Washington National Guard and vice commander, 194th Wing, in an email.

"Their cost of entry into this cyber business is low," he continued, "but the risks to us are high."

Formed in 2006 and headquartered on Camp Murray, the 194th was the Washington Air National Guard's first-ever non-flying operational wing. The unit's mission set consists of both kinetic and non-kinetic operations and includes sensitive missions that reside in the cyber domain. That's fancy talk that basically means these airmen keep someone else from shutting off the lights -not only in Washington state but also in this part of the nation.

"It's asymmetric warfare at its finest," Welsh emphasized. "They only have to be right once; we have to be right ALL the time."

He pointed out that the Guard has done some great missions within the state to advance cyber security within state agencies.

The wing's work in digital warfare also extends to protecting some of the state's critical infrastructure. Gent pointed to the recently released assessment of the cooperation between the Guard's cyber warriors and the Snohomish County Public Utility District.

Stepping away from the wing's role in protecting the state's vital infrastructure, Gent also said that the unit has hosted two cyber protection teams that have caught the eye of the U.S. Cyber Command.

"In fact, our folks are so highly respected and thought of, both the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Air Force personally visited a few months back to thank them for their recent efforts," Welsh continued.

That said, the threat posed by cyber attacks is growing. These threats can transform into physical consequences such as shutting down the computer system in a car or the manipulation of a medical device in a person's body, to say nothing of the denial of basic utility services to homes and businesses.

Welsh stated that citizens can sleep a bit better knowing they live in a state that has world-class cyber professionals protecting them and their businesses.

"When there's a flood, or an earthquake, or another tragic event like the SR 530 mudslide, you can count on the Guard," concluded Welsh. "That's also true now in Cyber."

For tips about cyber security, visit http://mil.wa.gov/emergency-management-division/cyber-security-program.

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