The war for cybersecurity talent hits the Hill

[FarCenter]

Many analysts and business leaders believe there is a severe need for qualified cybersecurity professionals in the U.S., something that has caught the eye of at least one key congressman.

U.S. House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) on Wednesday said more needs to be done to address the cybersecurity labor shortage.

"I agree 110% that we need to strengthen the workforce" of cybersecurity professionals, McCaul said during a meeting with reporters at the National Press Club.

McCaul was referring not only to cybersecurity workers needed for U.S. government agencies, but also for U.S. businesses that control the nation's critical infrastructure, including the electric grid and electronic healthcare records. "Eighty percent of the malicious codes are in the private sector," he said.

The need to fill cybersecurity jobs has been top of mind recently because of cyber exploits like the two massive Yahoo breaches announced late last year. Also, intelligence community revelations that Russia tried to influence the U.S. elections with various cyber-exploits have galvanized some U.S. lawmakers, including McCaul.

Several experts have estimated the workforce shortage of cybersecurity workers in the U.S. -- across multiple job titles -- currently at 300,000 or more. The most recently available analysis, from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, said the shortage of such workers in 2015 reached 209,000. Globally, the shortfall of cybersecurity professionals is expected to reach 1.5 million by 2020, according to data published by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

http://www.computerworld.com/article/3157433/security/the-war-for-cybersecurity-talent-hits-the-hill.html

Security jobs, particularly in cybersecurity, but also physical security, should be hot for the next decade.

[erpowers]

1. Put Training in Schools

The American government needs to make the investment and put computer and cybersecurity training in the public school system. They could start off teaching basic computer skills in elementary school (6th grade). Then they could increase the level of training as the kids get older and go on to higher levels. By the time they get to high school they could be learning cybersecurity and network setup.