Who hasn't heard, at least once, of the famous American military institute of West Point? If only for having seen any war film in the cinema or on TV. The US Army Military Academy is known around the world.
"West Point" was born in 1802, thanks to the signature of the American President Thomas Jefferson who decreed the birth by law. The mission of the Academy consists in "to educate, train, and inspire the Corps of Cadets so that each graduate is a commissioned leader of character committed to the values of Duty, Honor, Country and prepared for a career of professional excellence and service to the Nation as an officer in the United States Army ".
To keep faith with the mission, the West Point Academy is attentive to changes and in this sense the attention could not be missing towards an emerging sector such as the cyber world, so in 2012 the chief of staff of the American Army, recognized the need for an organization capable of a strategic opinion on the matter founded, within West Point, the "Army Cyber Institute" (ACI), conceived as "national resource for research, advice, and education in the cyber domain, engaging military, government, academic, and industrial cyber communities in impactful partnerships to build intellectual capital and expand the knowledge base for the purpose of enabling effective Army cyber defense and cyber operations ".
Naturally, the institute was provided with personnel (civil and military experts and educators) and funds for carrying out its mission.
Currently, the institute has the mandate to conduct interdisciplinary research, provide cyber tips and teachings, working with the Department of Defense (DoD), the Army, the US Government, academic and industrial communities to build intellectual capital and common knowledge base necessary to carry out effective operations cyber defense.
Among the most interesting projects published on the site, the "All-Army CyberStakes" project certainly deserves attention, a competition on the "Capture the flag" format now in its fourth edition and open to employees of the US Federal Government and cadets of the Academies and the Reserve Officer. Training Corp (ROTC).
The research program is equally interesting Jack Voltaic, which will serve as a test to verify cyber defense capabilities and understanding the military role in a cyber attack and to identify gaps and redundancies in response measures.
To learn more:
- https://www.westpoint.edu/
- https://www.acictf.com/
- https://www.acictf.com/about/
