Ministry of Defence plans test to sniff out soldiers with natural cyber security skills

Defence Cyber Aptitude Tests will identify armed forces personnel with a talent for cyber security

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has devised a series of aptitude tests in a bid to uncover armed forces personnel who may have a natural bent for cyber security.

The Defence Cyber Aptitude Test (DCAT) was developed with computer giant IBM and is intended to help identify an aptitude for cyber security with forces personnel who don't have any prior technical knowledge.

Instead, it is made up of a series of 'cognitive challenges' designed to uncover services personnel with the right sort of talents for cyber work, which is likely to include protecting systems and launching attacks.

The DCAT initiative is now being rolled out across the UK armed forces and will be used on those in the early stages of "technical training and service careers".

Major Harry Porteous, MoD project lead for DCAT, explained that the test is vital to ensure that the UK has the necessary personnel to protect against hackers and other cyber criminals.

"It is a useful tool for service career and branch managers to help identify individuals with a natural talent and the right skills to succeed at the cutting edge of defence cyber operations," he said.

Computing contacted IBM for more information on the company's involvement with the DCAT scheme, but had received no reply at the time of publication.

The creation of the DCAT is just the latest in a series of initiatives by the MoD to boost its cyber defence and attack capabilities. The department held a hacking event on the deep web last year to develop technologies that could improve the UK's national security.

Such efforts are clearly needed as nation states are becoming ever more savvy in their use of cyber weapons. The MoD had to admit in 2013 that its systems were breached and information was stolen, although the department did not disclose how or why.