Altus AFB preparing to be evaluated in a CCRI

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Franklin R. Ramos
  • 97th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
ALTUS AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. - --  The 97th Air Mobility Wing is scheduled to undergo its first phase three Command Cyber Readiness Inspection during the week of Jan. 27, 2014.

The CCRI is a formal inspection conducted under the direction of U.S. Cyber Command's Enhanced Inspection Program and requires an overall grade of at least 70 percent to pass.

"Base network infrastructure and the vulnerabilities of each device on base that connect to the Air Force Global Information Grid will be inspected," said U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Jamie Garcia, 97th Communications Squadron network control center section chief. "Should we rate critical enough to be a threat to the GIG, Defense Information Systems Agency has the authority to disconnect us from the GIG, impacting the intelligence community and Altus' ability to support real world missions for the Air Force and the Department of Defense."

Base members can assist by removing their common access cards from the computer the moment they walk away. It's not only a great practice, but it is a requirement.

"Physical security of our network includes logging off, not sharing passwords or pins, knowing your unit security manager, and reporting any violations big or small for review," Garcia said. "We need all base Client Systems Administrators to be proactive and check their clients for patching. There are over 64,000 ways to get into a computer, and we have to protect against all of the methods and tactics that change every day, where the bad guys only need to identify one vulnerability."

All base members should be trained annually on information protection and information assurance.

"We just need users to put what they are trained on into practice," said Garcia. "Should they ever have questions or need help with systems, the communications squadron is a phone call away."

Good cleanliness is a great practice. This prevents classified material from being left out or being visible by those without a need to know. A few pieces of unclassified information combined correctly can become classified and valuable to an advisory, Garcia added.

The 97th CS encourages all base personnel to practice good information protection, not only during the CCRI, but as a part of their daily work routine.