Critical Infrastructure Security , Cyberwarfare / Nation-State Attacks , Events

Calling Cyber-Experienced Attorneys: Uncle Sam Needs You

Have Fun While Boosting National Security, Says Cyber Command Lt. Col. Kurt Sanger
Lt. Col. Kurt Sanger, deputy staff judge advocate, U.S. Cyber Command

Calling all attorneys with experience in the cybersecurity domain: Uncle Sam needs you.

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Specifically, the U.S. Department of Defense is seeking attorneys who are cybersecurity subject matter experts and can embed inside each agency, maintain a base of understanding and work closely with each other, says Lt. Col. Kurt Sanger, deputy staff judge advocate of U.S. Cyber Command.

Sanger also says that as an attorney, he's "never had so much fun" as he does working for Cyber Command. Given the fact that many lawyers are "not having too much fun out there," he urges them to consider this "new area of practice." Unlike most military doctrine or criminal law, there's very little precedent in cybersecurity law, he says.

"It's a new way to do business, and as a lawyer, that's very difficult to find," he says, adding that "you're contributing to national security, so I wake up with a bounce in my step every day, because I'm excited about what I do. There's purpose in it, and you're on the ground floor of not just practicing your profession, but … we're creating the path for those that will take our place in the not-too-distant future."

In a video interview with Information Security Media Group at RSA Conference 2022, Sanger also discusses:

  • U.S. Cyber Command's mission;
  • The importance of interagency partnerships;
  • Key legal differences between armed conflict and most cyberspace operations that won't reach the level of armed conflict.

Sanger has been assigned to U.S. Cyber Command since 2017, serving first as the chief judge advocate for plans, policy, partnerships and legislative affairs, then as the chief judge advocate for national security law, and most recently as the command's deputy general counsel. Sanger has served as a military justice defense counsel and prosecutor, legal adviser to the Afghan National Army General Staff, an instructor in operations and international law at Marine Corps University, and planning officer with U.S. Central Command. Sanger, who holds a degree in national security law, previously served as staff judge advocate for U.S. Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command. He will retire from the Marine Corps in November.


About the Author

Mathew J. Schwartz

Mathew J. Schwartz

Executive Editor, DataBreachToday & Europe, ISMG

Schwartz is an award-winning journalist with two decades of experience in magazines, newspapers and electronic media. He has covered the information security and privacy sector throughout his career. Before joining Information Security Media Group in 2014, where he now serves as the executive editor, DataBreachToday and for European news coverage, Schwartz was the information security beat reporter for InformationWeek and a frequent contributor to DarkReading, among other publications. He lives in Scotland.




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