It's my life, you're just along for the ride!

Troops fighting in the growing combat area of cyberspace will operate from keyboards situated within each geographic military command, Cyber Command officials said.

The 900-member Maryland-based organization that is subordinate to the Nebraska-headquartered Strategic Command could mushroom from 900 to 4,900 cybersecurity professionals, sequester permitting. While the locations of the personnel have been decided, the size and composition of the workforce have not.

Each military service has distinct cyber support needs, officials said, and Cyber Command, like many information technology outfits, is suffering from a talent shortage. There also is the wild factor of looming budget cuts that begin on Friday unless lawmakers compromise on deficit-reduction legislation.

The cyberfighters, responsible for attacking the computers of adversaries and protecting Pentagon networks, are geographically embedded, “actually out there with all the other commands,” Maj. Gen. Jennifer Napper, Cyber Command director of plans and policy, told Nextgov. “We work with every single one of the other CoComs.” She was interviewed offstage after a Feb. 22 discussion on cyber defense teamwork hosted by the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association.

The unknown mix of civilians, contractors and uniformed service members will sit behind consoles at the Pacific Command’s Hawaii station and every other Defense Department base.

As far as staff makeup, “each service is helping to decide for themselves because each service looks at it a little bit differently on all these teams that they are building out,” Napper said.

Cyber Command, while assisting all the other commands, depends largely on two facilitating Defense agencies, she added. One is the clandestine code-breaking National Security Agency, which “has certainly long understood everything you ever wanted to know about communications and networks,” Napper said. NSA and Cyber Command share one leader, Gen. Keith Alexander.

via Cyber Warriors Will Be Embedded in Military Commands.

On Feb. 5, Sony announced the World Photography Awards shortlist of finalists in both professional and open categories. From over 120,000 submissions, this list of 43 images has been curated from submissions spanning 170 countries— a record number of entries to date.

Astrid Merget, creative director of the World Photography Organisation, said. “The World Photography Organisation is dedicated to finding the best international contemporary photography from across the world. The shortlist is a clear indication of the exciting photography which is out there and, as we do every year, we are looking forward to presenting this collection of photographers to a global audience.”

The photographers’ work will be exhibited at Somerset House, London, from April 26 to May 12 as part of the 2013 Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition, and published in the 2013 edition of the Sony World Photography Awards book.

The Open and Youth category winners will be announced on March 19. Professional category winners will take home $25,000 and will be announced at a gala ceremony in London on April 25.

1. Jens Juul, using the six degrees of separation theory, took a series of photos depicting connections in Copenhagen. (©Jens Juul, Denmark, Finalist, Portraiture, Professional, 2013 Sony World Photography Awards)

via 43 Breathtaking Photos You’ll Never Forget.

Murad Osmann and his girlfriend like to travel. And, when they do, they document their journeys in incredible style.Rather than upload traditional touristy shots, Osmann uses his Instagram account to post photos of his girlfriend leading him, by the hand, through gorgeous landmarks across the world. Some notable spots include London, Singapore, Amsterdam, Hong Kong and Bali. Even the inside of an IKEA store gets a shout-out.The overall theme of the pics: “Follow Me.””The first photo happened in Barcelona while we were on vacation. My girlfriend was a bit annoyed that I was always taking pictures of everything, so she grabbed my hand and tried to pull me forward. But it didnt stop me from doing photos,” Osmann, an executive producer at Moscow-based Hype Production, told Mashable. “Thats how it all started.”Osmann said he snaps the photos with his iPhone and uses the Camera+ app to add some corrections.”It might seem that I have a lot of free time, but we [Hype] have a lot of shoots away from Moscow — Im usually always busy at work abroad,” he said. “But after we finish shooting, I often ask my girlfriend to come for two or three days and we continue our project.”

via Girlfriend Leads Man Around the World in Breathtaking Pics.