What is Cyber Security?

  • Published
  • By Information Assurance
  • 6th Air Mobility Wing
MACDILL AFB, Fla. --   Air Mobility Command directed a "Cyber Security Awareness Day" be conducted by AMC wings to increase network user awareness of Cyber Security policy and procedures to prevent the threat of someone introducing software designed to infiltrate or damage computer systems on the network without the owner's informed consent. This includes any variety of hostile, intrusive, or annoying software or program code. For this event, the 6th Communications Squadron, Information Assurance (IA) Team will provide information all week through e-mails and IPTV videos to increase IA awareness across the wing and supported mission partner units.

The Department of Defense relies heavily on cyberspace to achieve national military objectives in the areas of military, intelligence, and business operations. This reliance provides adversaries an opportunity to exploit cyberspace to gain strategic, operational, and tactical advantages over the United States. In this regard, protection of vital information for AMC's systems and networks is a responsibility shared by all AMC and mission partner members on the AMC 2-K Enterprise Network.

Think about it, in today's world, it seems as though everything relies on either computers or the Internet -- communication (e-mail, cell phones), entertainment (digital cable, mp3s), transportation (car engine systems, airplane navigation), shopping (online stores, credit cards), medicine (equipment, medical records), and the list goes on. How much of your daily life relies on computers?

Cyber security involves protecting information by preventing, detecting, and responding to attacks. There are many risks, and among those are viruses erasing your entire system, someone breaking into your system and altering files, someone using your computer to attack others, or someone stealing your credit card information and making unauthorized purchases. Unfortunately, there's no 100 percent guarantee that even with the best precautions some of these things won't happen to you. The information provided through e-mails and IPTV videos during "Cyber Security Awareness Week", if adhered to, will go a long way with minimizing the chances of our adversaries gaining the advantage by exploiting us over cyberspace. For questions concerning Cyber Security contact Mr. Steven Ballistrea at 828-3169.