Officers needed to lead cyber troops
Management and officer programs are needed to support the cyber domain.
One measure of concern over cybersecurity is the number of new employment positions created in support for this domain. While it is clear employment in this area is growing from time to time, I go to one of the major job boards that specialize in jobs for people with security clearances and search on a specific cyber-related job title to look at the number of positions employers are looking to fill.
I just did that again and found eight and one-quarter pages of positions available. The postings started the end of April and go through June 15. Each page contains 20 job postings so that is more than 180 open spots for just one cyber job title. Forbes just ran an article titled, “New Grad Looking for a Job? Pentagon Contractors Post Openings for Black-Hat Hackers.”
Now consider that the number of colleges and universities that have added cyber-related courses and degrees to their curriculum. There are plenty of online- and classroom-based programs covering a plethora of related subject matter. Add to that the number of continuing education and professional development programs that are being widely offered and you begin to get a picture of the current supply and demand balance in this area.
One thing seems to be all but absent. It is very rare that you come across management- and officer-level programs that are needed to support this new domain of conflict. A few military-related organizations are now offering programs at the officer level, but less are available in the private sector. Education is key to managing this risk, and it must be nearly continuous education given the pace of change we are seeing in the cyber threat environment. That is a critical shortcoming that needs to be addressed and quickly.