This summer has been a PR disaster for the US government on the front of cyber defense and technology. If at least from a marketing standpoint, the US air force’s new initiative to add 1200 new posts towards “cyber defense”. The need for excess manpower supposedly comes from the necessity to pore through the vast array of big data currently coming out of surveillance and protection networks. The end goal of the initiative is to offer rigorous protection to US computer and computer networks from cyber attacks — how much of this includes civilian usage is unclear.

“This is a big data problem on steroids,” said Lt. Gen. Robert Otto, deputy chief of staff for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, according to Military.com. “If you look at the amount of data that is transmitted every day, it is going to take a tremendous amount of investment.”

“It is a delicate balance between efficiency and effectiveness,” Lt. Gen. Michael Basla, the Air Force’s chief information officer, told Military.com. “We will strive to bring greater capability to our warfighters with cost in mind. The demand for full-spectrum cyber capability across the department has increased significantly.”

Preliminary evidence suggests the new defense initiative is primarily targeted to protecting government networks.

Is this a front — or is cyber defense fundamentally for the people? Let us know your thoughts below.

via mashable