BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A North Dakota Army National Guard unit based in Bismarck has been notified it could be mobilized.

Detachment 1, 174th Cyber Protection Team has about seven soldiers on an alert status. The unit is led by 1st Lt. Charles Werner of Upham.

The Bismarck Tribune reports the decision to mobilize this unit has not yet occurred.

If mobilized, the unit would provide network security and cyber defense operations in support of the Department of Defense early next year at Fort Meade, Maryland.

North Dakota's adjutant general, Maj. Gen. Al Dohrmann, says the unit's potential mission would mark a new era for the North Dakota National Guard "as it engages in cutting-edge cyber operations technology."

Currently, about 45 North Dakota Guardsmen are mobilized for stateside and overseas missions.