Oklahoma Recruiting For First Ever Civilian Cyber Corps

The State of Oklahoma is looking to start its first ever Civilian Cyber Corps. The volunteer teams across the state will work hand-in-hand with state cyber security experts to fend off attacks. 

“Cyber security is a team sport,” OMES Cyber Hunting and Incident response Manager John Phillips said.  

With pipelines, banks and even gas stations falling prey, it’s becoming more and more clear, the battles of the 21st century are increasingly being fought online. 

“It is everywhere. It’s happening daily,” Oklahoma Cyber Watch Officer Amber Mangham said. 

From deep within the state’s fortified cyber command facility near the capital, the state list looking to enlist civilian reinforcements. 

“You may have a high school teacher who’s also the football coach, who’s the resident cyber expert, and I had a situation where we dealt with this,” Phillips said. “If you could start to bring these people in, in their communities throughout the state and share this experience, share this knowledge, this network you’ve got a resource within that local community.” 

Oklahoma is looking to become the sixth state to bring together public and private partners to respond to the high-tech but low investment digital attacks bombarding businesses and shelling the state. 

“It’s not just ‘I have a cyber background, so I fit,’ you don’t have to have that. It’s if you have the attitude and you want to come in and serve your community and you're willing to learn, we can teach you.” Mangham said. 

Candidates will undergo background checks and receive training through state agencies. 

The state’s cyber command hopes to have civilian volunteer teams in every one of the state’s eight security regions. 

“You’re not going to be able to defeat everyone and keep them out, so you’ve got to be resilient when something happens. We surge forces to it, we react, we mitigate, we returned back to a normal state,” Phillips said. 

“It’s about building stronger communities and resiliency to combat against cyber threats,” Mangham said. 

Click here to learn more about joining the Oklahoma Civilian Cyber Corp.