Cyber era just beginning says National Guard Major General

Posted on November 4, 2022
Maj. Gen. Rich Neely was part of a cybersecurity roundtable Friday. (Photo by lizzardo/flickr)

By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – The digital world is a primitive one, according to the general who runs the Illinois National Guard.

“We’re in the biplane era of cyber,” said Maj. Gen. Rich Neely, the state’s adjutant general. “We’re in the early years. Funding, policy, infrastructure that we need in the National Guard is all missing at this point. We’re all on a journey here as we grow. Much like we need large trucks in every state to support those states in their homeland response capability, we need cyber-capability, and we need robust structure that we can build around.”

Neely was part of a cybersecurity roundtable Friday.

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected]

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