Cybersecurity Update – Tune in weekdays at 30 minutes past the hour for the latest cybersecurity news on the Federal Drive with Tom Temin and Amy Morris (6-10 a.m.) and the DorobekINSIDER with Chris Dorobek (3-7 p.m.). here.
Agencies are dealing with a shortage of cybersecurity professionals right now. The Homeland Security Department and the Air Force have the authority to expedite the hiring of almost 17-hundred cyber-workers over the next two years. But, fast-track hiring is only seen as a stopgap solution. Information Week says, the long-term answer is going to require new training programs and better ways of attracting and retaining the workers that have the right skills. Chief information security officers and other government IT managers did recently manage to identify a range of the issues they’re going to have to address going forward. At a recent cybersecurity workforce conference, the discussion focused on several issues — a terrible federal hiring processes that identify candidates based on buzzwords. There was also a discussion about what really constitutes “bona fide” experience. Then there are the federal mandates that can push unqualified people to the front of the hiring line. Government still has a hard time just describing what a cybersecurity specialist really is. The Office of Personnel Management has found cybersecurity workers working in as many as 18 different federal job series. Right now, they’re mulling over whether the cybersecurity workforce needs its own series.
Check out all of Federal News Radio’s coverage of cybersecurity issues here.
Copyright
© 2024 Federal News Network. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
