(Bloomberg) — The U.S. Defense Department is sending careerpersonnel on tours with private cyber security companies andbringing in specialists from those companies to gain the skillsnecessary to defend military networks from hackers, the Pentagon'schief information officer said.

"There's not a time when I'm not being attacked somewhere in theworld," Terry Halvorsen, said at an event in WashingtonThursday hosted by the Christian Science Monitor. "We're looking toindustry to help us solve some specific areas."

Related: Silicon Valley help sought as Pentagon fights cyberattacks

The department, for example, brought in a specialist in computerserver routing technology from Cisco Systems Inc., Halvorsensaid.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter said earlier this year that Russianhackers penetrated the Pentagon's unclassified network. Halvorsendeclined to discuss the attack, or details of any otherthreats.

"I think Russian hackers are a serious threat," he said.

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