Fort Rucker's cyber readiness praised

By David Agan, Fort Rucker Public AffairsJanuary 16, 2015

Fort Rucker's cyber readiness praised
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FORT RUCKER, Ala. (January 16, 2015) -- Inspections are a normal part of any Soldier's routine, but it was Fort Rucker's network that was under the magnifying glass in December during the Command Cyber Readiness Inspection conducted by the Defense Information Systems Agency.

During the week-long inspection, DISA sought to ensure the cyber readiness of Fort Rucker's network infrastructure and the post received high marks, said Shawn Foist, installation information assurance manager, Network Enterprise Center.

"Our scores were 86 and 85.3 on the respective networks," he said. "The maximum score an Army NEC can receive is an 87-88 percent, so we scored in the A+ level," he added. "It was a very intensive process, but Fort Rucker did amazing."

This particular inspection was new territory for the NEC, Foist said.

"Having never gone through a CCRI before, we didn't know what to expect. It's not something you fail and forget. You fail and it's bad," he added. "Fort Rucker came through with flying colors."

Foist said teamwork was the key that allowed Fort Rucker to score as high as it did during the inspection.

"Our score is evidence of a post-wide team effort -- from Maj. Gen. Michael D. Lundy (U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence and Fort Rucker commanding general) all the way down. Col. (Robert C.) Doerer, the (USAACE) chief of staff, was very much engaged in the process, and with that we saw the rest of the post interested in the process," Foist said. "The command emphasis from Fort Rucker was amazing."

It was all hands on deck at the NEC in the period leading up to the inspection, said Foist.

"People that normally answer service desk calls were out working with protected distribution systems, outside plant worked nonstop and the network guys on the technical side were great," he said. "Physical security jumped in and helped us educate people on how to inspect PDSs, what paperwork is required and how those are to be stored -- how they're routed. We did very well on physical security, which is where some installations run into trouble. We had no issue there."

And while the inspection is over and Fort Rucker did well, the threat to the Army's network remains. There are steps that everyone using a computer or mobile device on Fort Rucker should take in the course of their daily duties to ensure that the network remains protected from cyber threats and malicious actors, said Foist.

"The security of the network is a daily thing," said Foist. "These (daily) steps and procedures help to thwart exploits and keep them from happening."

Users should always lock their computers and remove their common access cards anytime they leave their desk, even if only for a minute, and never share their password or PIN with anyone. People should also never open email attachments that arrive from unknown or unverified senders, as they could contain viruses, malware or other malicious code.

Personal mobile devices, such as cellular phones, iPods, iPads or Blackberries, or any other unapproved USB device should never be connected to government systems.

If end-users do not remain vigilant or become complacent when it comes to following these simple guidelines, it can leave the network vulnerable, according to Foist.

"What we need to do is maintain what we did right. If (end-users) continue doing that, we'll be very well positioned for the next CCRI, which should land some time 24-36 months from now," he added.

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Fort Rucker, Ala.

U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence