A cyber force is a

military branch Military branch (also service branch or armed service) is according to common standard a subdivision of the national armed forces of a sovereign nation or state. Types of branches Unified armed forces The Canadian Armed Forces is the uni ...

of a nation's

armed forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

that conducts military operations in

cyberspace Cyberspace is a concept describing a widespread interconnected digital technology. "The expression dates back from the first decade of the diffusion of the internet. It refers to the online world as a world 'apart', as distinct from everyday rea ...

and

cyberwarfare Cyberwarfare is the use of cyber attacks against an enemy state, causing comparable harm to actual warfare and/or disrupting vital computer systems. Some intended outcomes could be espionage, sabotage, propaganda, manipulation or economic war ...

. The world's first independent cyber force was the

People's Liberation Army Strategic Support Force The People's Liberation Army Strategic Support Force (PLASSF; ) is the space, cyber, political, and electronic warfare force and the 5th branch of the People's Liberation Army (PLA).

, which was established in 2015 and also serves as China's

space force A space force is a military branch of a nation's armed forces that conducts military operations in outer space and space warfare. The world's first space force was the Russian Space Forces, established in 1992 as an independent military service. ...

. As of 2022, the world's only independent cyber forces are the PLA Strategic Support Force, the German

Cyber and Information Domain Service The Cyber and Information Domain Service (german: Cyber- und Informationsraum, ; CIR) is the youngest branch of Germany's military, the Bundeswehr. The decision to form a new military branch was presented by Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen ...

, and the Singapore

Digital and Intelligence Service The Digital and Intelligence Service (DIS) is the digital service branch of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) responsible in providing military intelligence to the armed forces, building up the country's digital defence, and protecting the psy ...

. Most other countries organize their cyber forces into other military services or joint commands. Examples of joint cyber commands includes the

United States Cyber Command United States Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense (DoD). It unifies the direction of cyberspace operations, strengthens DoD cyberspace capabilities, and integra ...

and

Norwegian Cyber Defence Force The Norwegian Cyber Defence Force ( no, Cyberforsvaret) is a branch of the Norwegian Armed Forces responsible for military communications and defensive cyberwarfare in Norway. The force employs 1,500 people located at more than 60 locations. The m ...

History

Within the United States, the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

was the early leader in military cyber operations. In 1995, it established the

609th Information Warfare Squadron The 609th Information Warfare Squadron was a Squadron (aviation), squadron assigned to 9th Air Force under Air Combat Command with headquarters at Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter, South Carolina. It was the first operational information warfare comb ...

, which was the first organization in the world to combine offensive and defensive cyber operation in support of military forces. Initially viewing cyber as a subdivision of

information warfare Information warfare (IW) (as different from cyber warfare that attacks computers, software, and command control systems) is a concept involving the battlespace use and management of information and communication technology (ICT) in pursuit of a ...

, the

Air Intelligence Agency Twenty-Fifth Air Force (25 AF), also known as Air Force Intelligence, was a numbered air force (NAF) within the United States Air Force (USAF), and served as the Air Force's premier military intelligence organization. 25 AF was established on ...

controlled many of the early cyber missions. The

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

and

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

believed that the Air Force was attempting to seize the cyber mission for itself, pressuring the Air Force to stop the activation of

Air Force Cyber Command Air Force Cyber Command (Provisional) (AFCYBER (P)) was a proposed United States Air Force Major Command that existed only in provisional status. On 6 October 2008, the Air Force announced that the command would not be brought into permanent activ ...

. Instead,

was created as a subunified command under

United States Strategic Command United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands in the United States Department of Defense. Headquartered at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, USSTRATCOM is responsible for strategic nuclear deterr ...

in 2009 and Army Cyber Command, Fleet Cyber Command,

Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command The U.S. Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command (abbreviated as MARFORCYBER) is a functional formation of the United States Marine Corps to protect critical infrastructure from cyberattack. Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command is the Marine Corp ...

, and

Twenty-Fourth Air Force Twenty-Fourth Air Force / Air Forces Cyber (AFCYBER) was a Numbered Air Force within the United States Air Force. The Air Force consolidated its cyberspace combat and support forces into 24 AF. 24 AF was the Air Force component of U.S. Cyber Com ...

were created as service components. U.S. Cyber Command traces its history back to the 1998 establishment of Joint Task Force – Computer Network Defense, and its 2000 redesignation as Joint Task Force – Computer Network Operations under

United States Space Command United States Space Command (USSPACECOM or SPACECOM) is a unified combatant command of the United States Department of Defense, responsible for military operations in outer space, specifically all operations 100 kilometers (62 miles) and grea ...

. Following the inactivation of Space Command and its merger into

in 2002, Joint Task Force – Computer Network Operations was split into

Joint Task Force – Global Network Operations Joint Task Force-Global Network Operations (JTF-GNO) was a subordinate command of United States Strategic Command whose mission was to: direct the operation and defense of the Global Information Grid (GIG) across strategic, operational, and tactica ...

and

Joint Functional Component Command – Network Warfare The Joint Functional Component Command – Network Warfare (JFCC-NW) at Fort Meade, Maryland was a subordinate component command of United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) active from 2005 to 2010. It was responsible for coordinating offensiv ...

in 2004 before being reunified under U.S. Cyber Command. In 2014, the U.S. Army established the Cyber Corps, merging the offensive cyber role of the

Military Intelligence Corps The Military Intelligence Corps is the intelligence branch of the United States Army. The primary mission of military intelligence in the United States Army is to provide timely, relevant, accurate, and synchronized intelligence and electronic ...

and defensive cyber role of the Signal Corps. In 2018, Cyber Command was elevated to a full

unified combatant command A unified combatant command (CCMD), also referred to as a combatant command, is a joint military command of the United States Department of Defense that is composed of units from two or more service branches of the United States Armed Forces, an ...

. Periodic calls for the creation of a U.S. Cyber Force have occurred, with the most notable being by retired

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

and

Supreme Allied Commander Europe The Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) is the commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO) and head of ACO's headquarters, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE). The commander is ...

James G. Stavridis James George Stavridis (born February 15, 1955) is a retired United States Navy admiral, currently Vice Chair, Global Affairs and Managing Director of the global investment firm the Carlyle Group, and Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Rocke ...

and retired intelligence officer and cyber security businessman

David Venable David "Dave" Venable (born January 11, 1978) is a former intelligence officer with the United States National Security Agency, and current cyber security professional and businessman. He is an author and speaker on the topics of cyber security, ...

. In 2015, China created the world's first independent cyber force, establishing the

. This was followed by Germany's establishment of the

as the world's second cyber force in 2017 and Singapore's creation of the

as the world's third cyber force in 2022.https://www.mindef.gov.sg/web/portal/mindef/news-and-events/latest-releases/article-detail/2022/October/28oct22_nr2

Cyber forces

The following list outlines the independent cyber forces currently in operation around the world: *

References

{{Military branches Military branches Types of military forces Cyberwarfare

History

Cyber forces

See also

References