The US Government Wants To Empower High School Graduates To Become Cyber Security Officers, What's The Reason?

The US government wants to empower young high school graduates as cybersecurity officers because of the lack of human resources. (photo; unsplash)

JAKARTA – The US government sees the issue of cyber security as a very critical issue at this time. The lack of cybersecurity workers means that the federal government and the private sector need to consider accepting high school graduates as entry-level employees. They are also expected to find new staff through certificate and internship programs.

"While traditional college systems can play an important role in growth and development, they cannot be the only place we go to find and nurture cybersecurity talent," said Barbara Massa, executive vice president and head of business operations at security firm FireEye.

At the Sub-committee session of the Homeland Security Committee for Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Innovation, Rep. Yvette Clarke, DN.Y., chair of the committee, cited a deficit of 460,000 trained cybersecurity workers in the US along with a series of cyber incidents that have recently attacked government and private organizations. This is proof that more cybersecurity professionals should be recruited.

"I would like to commend [DHS] Secretary [Alejandro] Mayorkas for making the increase in the cyber workforce the second of DHS's 60-day cyber sprint. By prioritizing this aggressive approach, Secretary Mayorkas has made significant progress in reducing the significant number of cyber vacancies in the department while taking additional steps to address the national shortage of cyber professionals," Clarke said in his opening statement.

The subcommittee heard testimony from five witnesses who cited weaknesses in government and private sector efforts to attract, train and retain prospective cybersecurity workers. They suggested actions, such as developing an internship program, increasing funding for the DHS Cybersecurity Education and Training Assistance Program and reducing the time required to recruit new federal cybersecurity staff.

Tony Coulson, executive director at the Cybersecurity Center at California State University, San Bernardino, told committee members that the current hiring process for cybersecurity workers is outdated and the general requirements that require a bachelor's degree in a cybersecurity-related field do not include many potential workers.

To remedy this, he suggested that the industry take a page from other sectors, such as plumbing and carpentry, which focus on hands-on training.

Member of the Republican subcommittee. Richie Torres, DN.Y., asked witnesses about the need for all members of the cybersecurity staff to have a four-year college degree.

Kevin Nolten, director of academic outreach at Cyber.org's Cyber Innovation Center, which trains high school students in security, recommends that more high schools offer cybersecurity certificate programs that prepare students for technician-level jobs after graduation.

"Not all students will go on to college. So what we want to make sure is that after high school, we have students with industry-based certifications, so they are skilled to get into an organization and can be hired, right away," Nolten said.