Building America’s Cyber Force: Findings from the Commission on Cyber Force Generation

In-person registration for this event is now closed. Viewers may still register to attend this event virtually via the livestream on this webpage.

Please join us for a discussion on the forthcoming report from the Commission on U.S. Cyber Force Generation, which examines how the United States can better build, organize, and sustain the cyber workforce needed to meet evolving national security demands. As cyber threats grow in scale and sophistication, the report assesses key challenges across the current ecosystem, including persistent talent shortages, fragmented institutional structures, and barriers to effective coordination between government and the private sector.

This event will preview the Commission’s findings and explore a range of policy and structural options to strengthen U.S. cyber force generation. Attendees will hear directly from commissioners as they discuss the report’s core insights and recommendations, including approaches to improving recruitment, training, retention, and operational integration across sectors.

The event will follow the below schedule: 

6:25 pm – 6:30 pm Opening Remarks: Matt Pearl, Director, Strategic Technologies Program, CSIS  

6:30 pm – 7:00 pm Fireside Chat: Moderated by Lauryn Williams, Deputy Director and Senior Fellow, Strategic Technologies Program, featuring Representative Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), Ranking Member, House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel, and Representative Kevin Kiley (I-CA), Member, House Judiciary Committee. 

7:05 pm – 7:30 pm Panel Discussion: Moderated by Josh Stiefel, Commission on U.S. Cyber Force Generation Co-Chair, featuring Lieutenant General (Ret.) Ed Cardon, former Commanding General of the U.S. Army Cyber Command, RADM Mark Montgomery, USN (Ret.), Senior Fellow at Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, and Dr. Erica Lonergan, Assistant Professor, Columbia University. 

7:30 pm – 8:15 pm Panel Discussion: Moderated by Lauryn Williams, featuring Lt. Gen. Jerry Glavy, USMC (Ret.), LTG (Retired) Maria B. Barrett, Former Commanding General, U.S. Army Cyber Command, and George Barnes, Former Deputy Director and senior civilian leader of the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA). 

This research was made possible through generous funding to CSIS from Ballistic Ventures, Clarity Innovates, Coalition Inc, FGS, Packet Forensics, SANS Institute, Second Front Systems, Twenty Technologies, and With Honor Institute.