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Increase Cybersecurity Workforce, Government ­rged


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The International Internet System Security Certification Consortium has provided the Obama administration with seven ways in which it could increase the number of candidates for open cybersecurity posts within the federal government.

Credit: CaribbeanAmericanWeekly.com

The International Internet System Security Certification Consortium (ISC)2 has given the Obama administration seven recommendations for increasing the number of candidates for open cybersecurity positions in the federal government.

One of the recommendations calls for aligning workforce development programs such as the the Scholarship for Service and the Centers for Academic Excellence programs with the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology's National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education framework.

(ISC)2 also suggests that the Defense Department's Information Assurance Workforce Improvement Program be implemented by all government agencies.

In addition, (ISC)2 says the Obama administration should establish a cyber "special forces" team that would consist of skilled cybersecurity workers who may not be able to obtain security clearances or thrive in the culture of a typical government agency.

These and other recommendations will help ease the shortage of workers who possess specialized skills for combating cybersecurity threats, according to (ISC)2. "The biggest mistake we see is government and companies putting people in the wrong jobs," says (ISC)2 executive director W. Hord Tipton.

The consortium also suggested ways to improve the security of software and hardware products, such as demanding the creation of superior software by having qualified security software professionals participating in the development lifecycle.

From InformationWeek
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Abstracts Copyright © 2013 Information Inc., Bethesda, Maryland, USA


 

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