JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST -- The 87th Air Base Wing Communications Squadron was awarded the Air Mobility Command Information Defense Team Award earlier this week for their contributions to the installation’s cyber security.
The squadron earned the title after a comeback year that rebooted the team’s focus, drive, and resilience as a shop following an inspection failure this past spring.
“Our shop went through a Command Cyber Readiness Inspection and it didn’t go so well,” said 2nd Lt Michael DeMoss, 87th CS operations flight commander. “After that, we really stepped back and reexamined our processes.”
Following the CCRI, the 87th CS formed a vulnerability management team, tasked with finding root cause analyses of deficiencies in the base network, and the overall impact to the base level.
The 87th CS worked with other AMC bases to develop fix actions that augment the enterprise-level procedures and ensure compliance for future inspections. “We’re constantly scanning the network for patches and threats,” said Master Sgt Lauri Garrett, 87th CS cyber operations section chief. “We had a process we thought was good before, but we’re going to keep pushing for better.”
The efforts of the newly reset CS have resulted in the correction of hundreds of thousands of network threats, setting the standard for Air Mobility Command and defense installations nationwide. However, the strides made by the vulnerability management team don’t end with the next inspection, explained DeMoss.
“This award shows progress,” said DeMoss. “We’re doing something right, and we’re working to be Cyber-365.”