On December 26th, 2013, President Obama signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act (aka "The Cyber Warrior Act") which requires the Department of Defense (DoD) to assess the National Guard's capabilities.  The National Guard is a joint activity of the United States Department of Defense (DoD) composed of reserve components of the United States Army and the United States Air Force respectively referred to as the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard of the United States.

The Cyber Warrior Act requires the DoD to assist governors with cybersecurity needs assessments through "cybersecurity civil support teams" consisting of National Guard teams.  The Secretary of Defense (and relevant governors) would then have the authority to activate said teams to respond to various cyber attacks.  By having these teams, which somewhat include National Guard members who already have dayjobs working in the tech industry, Washington DC hopes to elevate states' localized preparedness.