New York National Guard Cyber Protection Team mobilizes for federal duty

LATHAM, NY (03/05/2018) (readMedia)-- Twenty-five New York Army National Guard Soldiers from the 173rd Cyber Protection Team have mobilized and deployed for federal service for a one-year tour of duty supporting federal computer security missions.

The Soldiers are part of the larger organization that also includes an additional 14 Soldiers from the New Jersey Army National Guard.

The New York element is based at New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs headquarters in Latham, N.Y.

The 39-member unit was formed at the end of January 2017. It is one of ten teams created by the Army National Guard to defend U.S. computer networks against unauthorized intrusions such as snooping into files, exploiting data, or inserting malware. Unit members will also learn to think like hackers so they can help computers defend against cyber incidents.

The team will conduct post-mobilization administrative processing at Fort Bragg, North Carolina before conducting its mission through the spring of 2019 at Fort Meade, Maryland.

As part of a cyber protection team, the New York Army National Guard Soldiers conduct defensive cyberspace operations on military networks.

These defensive cyberspace operations may be expanded, in compliance with federal and state laws, to include cyber command readiness inspections, vulnerability assessments, cyber opposing force support, critical infrastructure assessments, support for theater security cooperation activities, training support and advisory and assistance support.