MDA Space Aurora

New Cyber Command Established by CAF, Part of Pan-domain Battlespace Transition

Artist illustration of satellite and cyberspace. Credit: Zern Liew/Garik Barseghyan/SpaceQ.

The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) recently announced the establishment of Cyber Command (CAFCYBERCOM) that is meant to “consolidate the CAF’s cyber capabilities into a single unified and dedicated entity.”

The announcement was made by the Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence, and General Jennie Carignan, Chief of the Defence Staff on September 26.

According to the news release, “The establishment of CAFCYBERCOM represents an important milestone for the Department of National Defence (DND) and the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF).”

The creation of CAFCYBERCOM was an action item in Our North, Strong and Free: A Renewed Vision for Canada’s Defence policy document released earlier this year.

Major-General Dave Yarker
Major-General Dave Yarker. Credit: CAF.

Leading CAFCYBERCOM is Major-General Dave Yarker. His responsibilities include cyber operations, and cyber force sustainment, management, and development.

Some quick facts about CAFCYBERCOM:

  • Will be the single DND/CAF authority for cyber operations, responsible for cyber force sustainment, management, and development.
  • It includes Signals Intelligence and Joint Electronic Warfare and will be capable of conducting and supporting a range of cyber tasks.
  • CAFCYBERCOM will support the CAF’s transition to a pan-domain battlespace with greater agility and responsive to malicious cyber activity.
  • In addition to being integral to defending Canada and advancing its interests, the establishment of CAFCYBERCOM will help the Defence Team deliver on NATO commitments and the cyber and defence components of Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy.

Major-General Dave Yarker was appointed as the Joint Force Cyber Component Commander in 2022.

About Marc Boucher

Boucher is an entrepreneur, writer, editor & publisher. He is the founder of SpaceQ Media Inc. and Executive Vice President, Content of SpaceNews. Boucher has 25+ years working in various roles in the space industry and a total of 30 years as a technology entrepreneur including creating Maple Square, Canada's first internet directory and search engine.

Leave a Reply