Building a Civilian Cyber Corps

Whenever a natural disaster strikes a community, dozens, if not hundreds, of volunteers flock to assist in any way they can. From re-building homes to cooking food, volunteers work side by side with state and local officials to assist their neighbors. Without these volunteers, state and local governments would struggle to provide adequate services to all those in need. Unfortunately, such volunteer networks do not exist to assist private citizens, small businesses, and public agencies that fall victim to cyber attacks. The state of Michigan created the Cyber Civilian Corps to fulfill that need. This volunteer group, consisting of vetted security experts, expands the state’s ability to assist public and private entities defend and recover their systems. This document describes the Michigan Cyber Civilian Corps (MiC3) and offers recommendations for other states interested in establishing their own cyber volunteer organization.