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Department of Homeland Security to form “CyberReserve” volunteer cybersecurity army made of civilian hackers?

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We expected this was coming.  According to sources, the Department of Homeland Security was advised last week, to create a “cyber skills task force” that would act as a reserve army of cyber specialists in order to mold top-notch cybersecurity talent to address U.S. cybersecurity emergencies. Called the “CyberReserve” and similar to the National Guard program, CyberReserve would ensure professional “hackers” are on hand to respond to security-related national emergencies.

Estonia already has such a program in place – a government funded white-hat hacker organization that acts as a part of Estonia’s national guard. President Hendrik told NextGov:

“Since we live in this modern era, it’s not only riding around in the woods with guns. So why don’t we set this thing up where you can volunteer and we will support you materially to work on defense? It’s only about three months old but its widely popular among geeks.”

The CyberReserve program could act as a branch of the FBI, similar to the InfraGuard program. A 2002 law was passed that allows Homeland Security to create a “NET Guard” that would be maintained through a “national volunteer experts registry system” so the only thing holding officials back at the moment is, well, getting the ball rolling.

Sources: InfraGuard, NextGov, CNN, FEMA
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