Acyber force is amilitary branch of a nation'sarmed forces that conducts military operations incyberspace andcyberwarfare.[1] The world's first independent cyber force was thePeople's Liberation Army Strategic Support Force, which was established in 2015 and also serves as China'sspace force. As of 2022, the world's only independent cyber forces are the PLA Strategic Support Force, the GermanCyber and Information Domain Service,Norwegian Cyber Defence Force, and the SingaporeDigital and Intelligence Service.[2]
Most other countries organize their cyber forces into other military services or joint commands. Examples of joint cyber commands includes theUnited States Cyber Command[3]
In 2015, China created the world's first independent cyber force, establishing thePeople's Liberation Army Strategic Support Force.[4] This was followed by Germany's establishment of theCyber and Information Domain Service as the world's second cyber force in 2017 and Singapore's creation of theDigital and Intelligence Service as the world's third cyber force in 2022.[5][6]
Within the United States, theUnited States Air Force was the early leader in military cyber operations. In 1995, it established the609th Information Warfare Squadron, which was the first organization in the world to combine offensive and defensive cyber operation in support of military forces. Initially viewing cyber as a subdivision ofinformation warfare, theAir Intelligence Agency controlled many of the early cyber missions. TheUnited States Army andUnited States Navy believed that the Air Force was attempting to seize the cyber mission for itself, pressuring the Air Force to stop the activation ofAir Force Cyber Command.[7]
Instead,United States Cyber Command was created as a subunified command underUnited States Strategic Command in 2009 andArmy Cyber Command,Fleet Cyber Command,Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command, andTwenty-Fourth Air Force were created as service components.[8] U.S. Cyber Command traces its history back to the 1998 establishment of Joint Task Force – Computer Network Defense, and its 2000 redesignation as Joint Task Force – Computer Network Operations underUnited States Space Command. Following the inactivation of Space Command and its merger intoUnited States Strategic Command in 2002, Joint Task Force – Computer Network Operations was split intoJoint Task Force – Global Network Operations andJoint Functional Component Command – Network Warfare in 2004 before being reunified under U.S. Cyber Command. In 2014, the U.S. Army established theCyber Corps, merging the offensive cyber role of theMilitary Intelligence Corps and defensive cyber role of theSignal Corps.[9]
In 2018, Cyber Command was elevated to a fullunified combatant command.[10] Periodic calls for the creation of a U.S. Cyber Force have occurred, with the most notable being by retiredUnited States NavyAdmiral andSupreme Allied Commander EuropeJames G. Stavridis and retired intelligence officer and cyber security businessmanDavid Venable.[11][12][13][14]
The following list outlines the independent cyber forces currently in operation around the world:
People's Liberation Army Cyberspace Force
Cyber and Information Domain Service
Norwegian Cyber Defence Force
Digital and Intelligence Service