In this episode of A Little Privacy, Please!® we spoke with Colonel John Hollister, Commander of the 82nd Mission Support Group at Sheppard Air Force Base. With more than 30 years of service—including a leadership role at the National Security Agency—Colonel Hollister brings a wealth of experience and a unique perspective on the evolving role of cybersecurity in national defense.
Before we began, Colonel Hollister reminded us that the views and experiences he shared during our conversation are his own and do not represent the official positions of the United States Air Force or Sheppard Air Force Base.
Can you tell us how cybersecurity supports the role of the Air Force in protecting our country?
Cybersecurity supports the Air Force by enabling secure communications for command and control. When we deploy forces and deliver combat capability around the world, we must ensure that communications with our aircraft and partners are secure.
Beyond communications, cybersecurity is essential for defending our critical infrastructure, key resources, and weapon systems. Installations have many access points for adversaries. Our water and electrical utilities, networks, and more are all potential targets.
We also focus on operational readiness in contested environments, whether in kinetic (bombs and bullets) or non-kinetic (cyber and electronic warfare) scenarios. We must be prepared to operate effectively in both.
Finally, cybersecurity helps deter adversaries through resilience and cyber dominance. Our adversaries know we have the most capable cyber mission force in the world, so they often look for easier targets. Projecting strength through cybersecurity is a key part of how we support the Air Force.
How has the role of cybersecurity changed in the armed services throughout your career?
I’ve been in the Air Force for over 30 years, and one of the biggest changes I’ve seen is how cybersecurity has evolved from a support function into a warfighting domain. It’s now on par with air, land, sea, and space as a domain through which we project power.
When I first joined, networks were seen as business tools. There wasn’t much concern about adversaries because they weren’t as sophisticated. But over time, we’ve learned that adversaries will exploit any access point they can find, even seemingly innocuous, unclassified networks.
As a result, we’ve had to shift our mindset. It’s no longer just about protecting our most sensitive systems, we have to protect everything. Even minor vulnerabilities can lead to major breaches.
Cybersecurity is now integrated into all levels of operations. When we plan missions, we include cyberspace effects. It’s become a priority battlespace, and we treat it as such.
What would you say to young people interested in serving their country through cybersecurity, particularly in the Air Force?
I would say do it. It’s an amazing opportunity. You get to work with some of the most intelligent individuals and serve on the digital front lines.
The perspectives and experiences you gain in the military are unlike anything you’ll find elsewhere. The training is exceptional, and the opportunities for growth are unmatched. You can build certifications, gain hands-on experience, and develop skills that make you highly competitive—whether you stay in the military or transition to the private sector.
Things are pretty serious in the cybersecurity space, but do you have any funny anecdotes you can share?
There’s one that comes to mind. I was leading our security operations center one evening when we got a frantic call from an organization seeing virus alerts across their network. We immediately launched our quick reaction checklist and went into full response mode.
After an hour and a half of investigation, we discovered the “threat” was a new device pulling antivirus signatures from a server. The alerts were just signature files being transferred—not actual viruses.
It was chaotic in the moment, but looking back, it was a great reminder of the importance of training and triage. And yes, we laughed about it afterward.