CNMF named DOD's latest subordinate unified command

The Pentagon's joint cyber force dedicated to deterring and disrupting malicious actors has officially become the Pentagon's latest subordinate unified command, the Defense Department announced today.

The elevation of the Cyber National Mission Force, which occurred during a ceremony at U.S. Cyber Command’s headquarters at Ft. Meade, MD, comes after officials there were active in areas ranging from election defense to counter-ransomware operations and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the DOD release states.

“What this designation is really about is the maturity of the Cyber National Mission Force as a forward-looking organization to defend the nation,” Maj. Gen. William Hartman, the commander of CNMF, said in the release. “It’s about building a sustained readiness model that enables us to stay in a fight. It’s about our people: how we develop a dynamic model to recruit, assess, train and retain the world’s most talented cyber force.”

CNMF was first spun up in 2014, and now consists of 39 joint cyber teams spread across six task forces.