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DEFEATING THE ONLINE ENEMY


THE PATHFINDER PROGRAM Nicholas Steward is a red team lead—a cybersecurity professional who attempts to hack IT systems to identify weaknesses—with TSMO and also serves as a government lead and mentor for the Pathfinder Program. Steward first became involved in Pathfinder in 2020. What started out as a part-time effort has since grown into a full-time role. “Te goal for the Pathfinder Program is to grow the next generations of federal government professionals,” said Steward. “Tere is a growing need for cyber talent not only in the U.S. but specifically the DOD. Te program is designed to bring awareness, gain interest and ultimately recruit and retain quality cyber talent.”


“Many young individuals are aware that pursuing a career as a lawyer, doctor, etc., can lead to financial stability and [a] reward- ing job,” Steward said. “If the individual is in cybersecurity, they may not consider the DOD as a primary option for fulfilling a career in cybersecurity. My aim is to create a pathway that exposes [nongovernment] individuals [typically with degrees in a cyber related field] about the excellent career[s] within the DOD.” Currently, 25 colleges are participating in the Pathfinder Program.


Pathfinder consists of three interactive elements: internships, scholarships, and research and development (R&D). Te intern- ship element provides field-specific apprenticeships, on-the-job training and mentoring. Scholarships provide funding through the Cyber Scholarship Program (CySP) and offer students career paths, scholarships provided and sponsored by PEO STRI, and two paid summer internships. In addition, students participat- ing in the CySP will commit to government service following their graduation. Te R&D element of the program consists of professor-led teams of students addressing critical cyber issues, assisting in the development of tools that PEO STRI will use for testing, as well as engaging universities in the federal contracting process and assigning DOD projects to universities. Additionally, the R&D element not only provides students an opportunity to participate in work within DOD but also serves as a resource for the test and evaluation community.


Within the internship element, Pathfinder offers a SkillBridge training option for active-duty military. SkillBridge is defined by the Office of the Secretary of Defense as “an opportunity for service members to gain valuable civilian work experience through specific industry training, apprenticeships or intern- ships during the last 180 days of military service prior to release from Active Duty.” Every year, over 200,000 service members transition out of the military. Trough Pathfinder, transitioning


54 Army AL&T Magazine Fall 2023 ROUNDTABLE WITH THE RED TEAM


Students participate in a roundtable session to discuss being in the field of cybersecurity. They were joined by two red team members to provide students an opportunity to engage in a question-and- answer session at the Millennium office in Huntsville, Alabama. (Photo courtesy of Nicholas Steward, PEO STRI Threat Systems Management Office)


service members can receive on-the-job training for the last six months of their service, providing them with work experience and preparation for a career in the civilian workforce, all while still being compensated by the military.


“It was what definitely solidified in my mind that cybersecurity was what I was wanting to do with my career.”


One of Pathfinder’s focuses is training future security profes- sionals in a red team role. According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, a red team is “a group of people authorized and organized to emulate a potential adversary’s attack or exploitation capabilities against an enterprise’s security


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