Adm. Michael Rogers, director of the National Security Agency and commander of the U.S. Cyber Command, has said the U.S. military’s new cyber defense corps would start operations in September 2016, Agence France-Presse reported Thursday.
Rogers told the Senate’s armed services committee that the military is nearly halfway toward forming the teams composed of 6,200 cyber warriors, according to the report.
He said the new corps is prepared to aid combatant commands in fighting cyber attackers, AFP reports.
Rogers also forewarned lawmakers that budget cuts could hold back the cyber teams’ formation and hamper the U.S. government’s cyber defense efforts, the report says.
“If we do not continue to invest in our existing and future capabilities, we will lack the necessary capacity and risk being less prepared to address future threats,” he told the Senate panel.
The Cyber Command chief also noted an escalation in threats to the nation’s critical infrastructure, AFP reports.
