The hunt is on for cyberwarriors

Ben Bain
Washington Technology
Wednesday, July 29, 2009

A group of private and government organizations has launched a program to build the next generation of U.S. cyber defense leaders.

The U.S. Cyber Challenge is looking for 10,000 young Americans with the skills to be cybersecurity practitioners, researchers, guardians, and cyberwarriors. The program will provide participants with competition, training, recognition and a chance to win scholarships. It is led by the Center for Strategic and International Studies and includes the Defense Department’s Cyber Crime Center, the Air Force Association and the SANS Institute.

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Experts say there is an urgent need to expand the federal cybersecurity workforce. The Partnership for Public Service and Booz Allen Hamilton recently released a report that said the government will be unable to combat cyber threats without “a more coordinated, sustained effort to increase cybersecurity expertise in the federal workforce.” The study said the “pipeline of potential new talent is inadequate.”

“This is the biggest issue for the cyber community, this is the biggest national issue,” Alan Paller, director of research at the SANS Institute, said July 22. “But it’s played wrong a lot of the time, it’s played as if we need more bodies – it’s not that we need more bodies, we need bodies with particular skills.”

Full story here.

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