The Next Generation of US Cyber Warriors

Credit: New America Foundation Zane Markel has never known a world without the promise and perils of the Internet. The young native of Bismarck, North Dakota represents one of the first midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy who will commission directly into the Navy's information warfare community after graduation. That honor makes him part of the newest generation of U.S. cyber warriors at a time when computer-driven systems have become both the strength and Achilles' heel of modern military forces. The path to becoming a cyber warrior was paved by early awareness of the dangers posed by cyber attacks. In eighth grade, Markel read a Discover Magazine article about botnets taking over hundreds of thousands of computers. Next came the slew of headlines about Anonymous, a loosely-organized "hacktivist" coalition, hacking the websites of companies and organizations ranging from PayPal to the Church of Scientology. Near the end of high school, ...