WASHINGTON -- This October marks the 20th Anniversary of DoD’s Cyber Security Awareness month!

Throughout the course of the month, we will reflect upon our individual and collectives roles as “Cyber Warriors”, and the critical contribution of cyber to the Navy’s warfighting and business support missions!

Each Monday during the month of October, we will transmit a new message focused on different elements of cybersecurity and the roles we all play in them. Cybersecurity is the foundation of everything we do, whether you are a fire control technician, 9-1-1 dispatcher, or contracting officer, the steps you take to keep the Navy cyber secure are critical to our mission success.

The CNO’s North Star states “By 2027, the Navy will be more ready for sustained combat as part of a Joint and Combined force, prioritizing the People’s Republic of China as the pacing challenge and focusing on enabling the Joint warfighting ecosystem.” To meet CNO’s goals, it is critical we as a Navy continue to improve our cyber posture, hardening our cyber defenses and improving our resiliency so that Sailors can continue to operate in a contested cyber environment. According to the Office of the Director National Intelligence, China remains the most active and persistent cyber threat to U.S. Government, private-sector, and critical Infrastructure networks.

Even now, state-sponsored cyber actors are seeking to pre-position themselves on our information technology networks for disruptive or destructive cyberattacks. In the event of a major conflict, the Navy must be prepared to sustain and counter aggressive cyber operations against both critical infrastructure and military assets.

A key part of that preparation is improving the Navy’s cyber resiliency, which is our ability to anticipate, withstand, recover from, and adapt to adverse conditions, attacks, or compromises on systems. The goal is to ensure that critical systems have the ability to deliver capabilities and execute supported missions in a contested cyber environment. By improving our resiliency we are improving our readiness.

Cyber Resiliency is a cornerstone to our Navy’s ability to achieve the CNO’s North Star and compete in the globally interconnected battlespace of 21st century conflict.