A new U.S. Marine Corps group is bringing the battlefield to cyberspace, reports the Orange County Register.
The 1st Marine Expeditionary Force's Information Group was established on July 6 at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton. The group, which is the first of its kind, will specialize in using information to fight enemies in the "electromagnetic spectrum," Col. Bobbi Shea told the Orange County Register. Col. Dawn Alonso will helm the newly founded group.
"This means degrading the enemy's ability to exploit the information environment, capitalizing on social media and defending our abilities against cyber hacks we've become vulnerable to," Shea told the Orange County Register. "We want to make sure our commanders and units in the battlefield can take advantage of those networks and tools we provide them."
Shea says that the group will connect cyber warfare-trained Marines with troops in the physical battlefield. Marines in the group will take advantage of tools like cellphone signals, drones and satellite imaging to accurately target and disrupt enemies, giving U.S. troops on the ground an upper hand, says the Orange County Register.
The new expeditionary group is part of the U.S. Marine Corps’ 2017 initiative to "modernize the force."
