NATO member Poland will launch a cyberspace defense force by 2024 made up of around 2,000 soldiers qualified in cybersecurity, the defense minister said on Thursday after formally approving it.
“We’re well aware that in today’s world it’s possible to influence the situation in states by using these methods (cyberwar),” Mariusz Blaszczak told local media at a military cyber training centre in Zegrze, near the capital Warsaw.
Blaszczak said that the force’s command unit would begin operation in 2022.
Poland would have enough IT graduates by 2024 to provide the force with 2,000 personnel qualified in cyberdefense, he added.
Poland’s defense ministry is already looking for talent by partnering with the HackYeah hackathon to offer a total of 30,000 zlotys (6,900 euros, $7,650) in cash prizes for top hackers, according to a post the ministry’s website.
The two-day hackathon, billed as the biggest event of its kind in Europe, takes place on Saturday and Sunday weekend near Warsaw.
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