College of Information and Cyberspace

College of Information and Cyberspace
Name	College of Information and Cyberspace
Established	2017
Type	Professional military education
Location	Maxwell Air Force Base, Montgomery, Alabama
Parent	National Defense University
Head	Provost

Contents

College of Information and Cyberspace is a professional military education institution within the National Defense University that consolidates education and research in information operations, cyber policy, and strategic communications. It provides graduate-level instruction, joint warfighting education, and senior leader development for personnel from the United States Air Force, United States Space Force, United States Army, United States Navy, United States Marine Corps, Defense Information Systems Agency, and allied partners. The college integrates historical and contemporary case studies drawn from events such as the Gulf War, Operation Enduring Freedom (2001–2014), and the Russo‑Ukrainian War to inform doctrine and policy.

History

The college was created in response to evolving operational requirements that emerged after the September 11 attacks and amid shifts exemplified by the Cybersecurity Act of 2015 and debates following the Stuxnet revelations. Its establishment followed earlier organizational experiments at the Air University and the Information Resources Management College, and drew on doctrine from the Joint Chiefs of Staff publications used during Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003–2011). Leadership decisions referenced strategic guidance from the National Security Strategy and lessons from interagency efforts like the Department of Homeland Security responses to the 2013 Target data breach and other incidents. The college has evolved through partnerships with institutions such as Harvard Kennedy School, Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Georgetown University, and international military schools including the Royal College of Defence Studies, reflecting trends set by the Revolution in Military Affairs and the rise of contested domains highlighted by the South China Sea disputes.

The college's mission aligns with directives from the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to prepare leaders for operations across information and cyberspace domains. Objectives emphasize development of concepts advanced in Joint Publication 3-12 (Cyberspace Operations), the integration of lessons from Cyber Command (United States) activities, and the promotion of norms discussed at fora like the United Nations General Assembly debates on responsible state behavior in cyberspace. It seeks to produce graduates capable of advising senior leaders about issues linked to precedents such as the Tallinn Manual 2.0, responses to the SolarWinds cyberattack, and deterrence models referenced during NATO deliberations on collective defense.

Programs include graduate-level resident courses, distance education, and executive seminars with curricular themes drawn from case studies like the Estonia cyberattacks (2007), Operation Gladio analyses, and the information campaigns around the 2016 United States presidential election. Coursework integrates materials from scholars and practitioners associated with RAND Corporation, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Brookings Institution, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and textbooks used at United States Naval War College and United States Army War College. Concentrations cover cyber policy, strategic communication, information operations, offensive and defensive lessons tied to Operation Orchard, and legal frameworks influenced by the Wassenaar Arrangement and Tallinn Manual interpretations. Guest lecturers have included senior figures from the National Security Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and international partners such as officers from the Australian Defence Force and the British Army.

Research efforts are organized into centers and initiatives collaborating with think tanks and laboratories like the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, SANS Institute, and the MITRE Corporation. Ongoing projects examine attribution techniques informed by studies of WannaCry, NotPetya, and the 2007 cyberattacks on Estonia, resilience strategies modeled on Operation Iraqi Freedom logistics, and policy analysis relevant to frameworks developed by the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Centers sponsor symposia that attract participants from the Council on Foreign Relations, Atlantic Council, International Committee of the Red Cross, and legal scholars who have worked on the Geneva Conventions implications for cyber conflict.

The college is structured with academic departments, research centers, and professional outreach offices reporting to the National Defense University leadership and ultimately to the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. Leadership typically comprises senior military officers and civilian scholars with prior assignments at institutions such as the Pentagon, United States Cyber Command, Air Force Research Laboratory, and academia including Princeton University and Columbia University. Boards and advisory panels include representatives from the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of State, allied ministries of defense, and corporate partners that have collaborated with firms like Microsoft, Cisco Systems, and Lockheed Martin on cybersecurity initiatives.

Students are mid‑ to senior‑level officers, interagency civilians, and international fellows drawn from partner countries including United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Germany, Japan, and Republic of Korea. Admissions criteria reflect joint professional military education standards used by the Defense Acquisition University and selection processes similar to fellowship programs at Fulbright Program and senior courses run by the NATO Defense College. Class profiles often include personnel whose prior assignments involved service at commands such as CENTCOM, EUCOM, PACOM, and agencies like the Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission.

Facilities include classrooms, cyber ranges, and simulation labs co-developed with vendors and research partners that have supported projects for DARPA, National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Training resources enable exercises modeled after campaigns studied in Operation Desert Storm and contemporary scenarios derived from incidents like the Colonial Pipeline cyberattack, enabling collaboration with international centers such as the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence and academic partners including Carnegie Mellon University and University of Oxford.

Category:United States military education and training institutions