Ash Carter : United States National Guard may join cyber offense against Daesh

US Defense Secretary Ash Carter said the National Guard's cyber squadrons will play an increasingly important role in assessing the vulnerabilities of US industrial infrastructure and could be asked to join the fight against Daesh, NDTV reported on Sunday.

The National Guard - a reserve military force that resides in the states but can be mobilized for national needs - is a key part of the military's larger effort to set up over 120 cyber squadrons to respond to cyber attacks and prevent them.

One such unit, the 262nd squadron, is a 101-person team that includes employees of Microsoft Corp and Alphabet Inc's Google. The unit is "famous throughout the country" for several high profile vulnerability assessments, Carter said at the Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Tacoma, Washington late on Friday.

He told reporters the squadron was not currently engaging in offensive cyber missions but could be in the future.

The 262nd squadron's work includes a study last year on the control system used by Snohomish County Public Utility District in Washington state, which helped the utility strengthen its security, and a 2010 case in which the US Air Force briefly lost contact with 50 Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Source : MENA