Challenges in the Cybersecurity Workforce
The issues of cybersecurity in the United States have been on the rise with various challenges facing the sector in the workforce. This has resulted in billions of losses per year, with also another problem being the state-sponsored hacking groups, which pose another significant threat to the security of firms. Globally, it is estimated that there will be about 1.9 million positions for cybersecurity personnel, which will not be filled by 2020 (Morris). In the United States, individuals who are competent enough to provide the services to prevent the issues of malicious threats are unavailable, with more than 200,000 jobs unfilled today (Morris). Some of its main problems are the concerns to do with industrial productivity and national security, which are greatly affected by the threats posed by cybersecurity issues. This paper will discuss the challenges mainly at the state level and ways that could be utilized t addressed them.
The main challenge facing the state level in cybersecurity is getting the individuals who will take the jobs to protect the personal information stored by the state. Besides, It is worth to note that the federal, like both the local and state governments, hold data for millions of individuals, and they depend on internet and information communication technologies to offer services to the citizens (Poremba). For example, to maintain critical infrastructure as public utilities, to make sure that first responders receive the data they need in crisis situations and share information across states and federal networks. Therefore, digital investment, protection of cyberinfrastructure, and establishment of approaches that are comprehensive are crucial to help in increasing the readiness and resilience to tackle issues that may arise.
Causes of Shortage of Workers
This is caused by various factors that contribute to it, which include educational, socio-cultural, economic, political, and technological issues, which have an impact on the qualification of the workers for the job. The issues of salary have contributed it the challenges faced by the state in securing competent workers because those in the private sector are paid more than those in the public sector. Besides, some of the studies that have been carried out indicate that recruiting and keeping individuals with experience in cybersecurity is among the biggest challenges that are commonly encountered. Also, in a survey that was done by Deloitte-NASCIO on cybersecurity, the majority of the respondents claimed that the main barrier to attraction on individuals in the working environment is the issue of salaries, which does not match those offered by the private sector (Bergal). For instance, the data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the annual salary for the cybersecurity working in state government was approximately $76000, while those in the private industry earned $95000 (Bergal). This was is a huge difference that cannot be closely related.
Furthermore, politics also plays a significant role in the workforce employed in the public sector. This is because of the job and salary insecurity that is present in the sector contributed by the failure of the Senate to come into an understanding, which then complicates issues of workers on whether they will be paid or not in case it is shut down by the government (Bergal). Besides, some of the officials in the Senate have stated that the government cannot compete with the pay offered by the private sector in either the top end or entry-level of the scale. Additionally, the issue of job security in the federal governments has been called into question because of budget cuts, pay freezes, and the inability of the president and the congress to agree on the 2014 fiscal funding (Bergal). This uncertainty thus steers away some of the potential and competent employees from the public sector to the private ones.
Apart from that, the public sector also has more barriers than they are in the private sector. For example, to be employed by the government, one of the requirements is the secret clearance, which is not the case in the private sector. Together with that, the position also requires an individual who has lived and worked in the country for a minimum period of five years. These barriers are some of the least important things that are required by the private sector, and they also prevent other competent workers from applying for jobs, which then results in a crisis in the workforce. This is highly contributed by the least number of an individual meeting the requirements set.
The National Association of State Personnel Executives estimated that the state government could lose the workers, but the issue of shortage has not been experienced by the majority of the states in the United States. However, there are several factors that have been linked by the Council of State Governments survey to combine with the labor conditions that that are currently experienced and could result in a crisis (Poremba). These factors include the budget problems, rates of employee retirement, and the current composition of the state workforce. Besides, the estimates for the future rates of retirements are higher, which then shows that a shortage of workforce might become a big challenge facing not only the states but also all the sectors. These values are calculated with consideration of the composition of the current workforce and other determinants such as age and the years of service of the present workers.
Besides, the average age for the workers both in private and the public sector is steady with some of the states such as New Jersey, North Dakota, Montana, Iowa, and Kansas estimated to experience a massive shortage of the workforce in 10 years. Currently, the United States workforce is majorly comprised of the baby boomers generation, with the national average age of the state government workforce falling within the center of the group age range (Coulson, Megan, and Vincent). Furthermore, the composition of the present employees is a contributing factor to the shortage in the workforce in cybersecurity. Although the individuals working gain institutional knowledge and experience, the significant part of the workforce from this group eventually seeks retirement, which then leaves the less trained workforce to tackle the job (Crumpler and James). The current data reported on the average years of service by the workers in the state governments shows the impending shortage of employees who will be available. Therefore, it is a concern that needs to be addressed earlier.
Also, budget cuts contribute to the shortage of workers in cybersecurity because of the limitations of hiring it causes. For instance, mandatory hiring limitations have been enforced by 27 states or have established an outright hiring freeze, which then has a significant impact on the recruiting and retaining process of cybersecurity employees by the human resource departments (Crumpler and James). This contributes to the shortage because the hiring of new employees is not done with the aging workforce seeking retirement. Therefore, the issues of the shortage of the cybersecurity workforce in the state workforce are a result of various factors that contributes to it.
Addressing the Challenges
The shortage of workforce in the state cybersecurity positions is a great concern that needs to be addressed to prevent the issues of national security and economic growth it affects. This can only be done by getting more qualified individuals to fill the cybersecurity job in the government in the future. The issue of the individuals who will work efficiently and deliver the protection required in the cybersecurity will need collaboration with other stakeholders such as the institutions offering the programs. This will ensure that the individuals are thought and are well informed on various strategies that can be applied in dealing with different issues that may arise in the field. Besides, the establishment of initiatives that are determined to identify and train individuals to take up the roles as scholars of the cybersecurity will be an excellent opportunity to develop a pool of personnel who will be available for the job.
The state government should also work to mentor the individuals already in the workforce to improve their skills and knowledge on the current issues facing the field. This is because an informed individual will be in a better position to deal with the challenges that arise on the issue than their counterparts. Therefore, the provision of training services for the workers is a strategy that will promote it (Bergal). Besides, the state government can focus on providing their workers with an opportunity to develop their skills through further studies to improve their competency. This improves their readiness and capability to deal with issues as they arise.
Furthermore, the issue of salaries should also be addressed to help in maintaining and attracting more competent employees to work for the government. Although salary cannot be the only thing that attracts employees, it plays a major role in creating an opportunity for the workers to further their education and other important training that improves their skills. Cybersecurity employees in the United States are paid a salary starting from $25,000 in a year, with few individuals getting more than $100,000 per year (Bergal). The issue with workers who have the competency and enough skills for the job is that they want an exciting and challenging environment that will help in the development of their careers.
Besides, the majority of the individuals who have enough experience, knowledge, and skills know their worth, and therefore, offering good pay with benefits will be the best strategies to attract and retain them. For them to maintain the competency in data protection, it will be necessary to offer pay that is more than half or even twice with is paid to other individuals performing different It roles. Also, offering compensation to employees who are able to identify and fix security flaws will serve as a motivation that will encourage the workers to deliver the best they can in their service (Corrin). With this, the issues of malicious threats will be significantly managed with the protection of data will be the priority
Apart from that, the budgeting for the cybersecurity is an issue that must be highly considered to maintain the level of security that will be required. This is because the hiring of workers will depend on it. The issue of limitation of the budgetary allocation reduces the capability of the state to hire competent, experienced, knowledgeable, and skilled cybersecurity workers, thus leaving it to a less talented workforce, which is increases the chances for an attack because of the vulnerability attached to it (Henry). Therefore, the budget allocation for cybersecurity should be increased, and its limitations lifted to provide an opportunity for a better workforce that will take the lead in providing the services and protecting people’s information.
Furthermore, the labor conditions that are set by the state governments for individuals seeking cybersecurity jobs should be revised to help in addressing the issues of shortage. Besides, recruits have the potential to grow and be the best. Therefore, the states should focus on ways they can be improved to meet the need they look for.
Conclusion
In conclusion, one of the significant issues facing the cybersecurity workforce at the state level is the issue of getting competent and enough employees to work for the state. The federal and state government have a lot of information about individuals that need to be protected because of issues such as economic growth and national security. Therefore, the employment of competent workers is required to promote it. However, various barriers prevent the recruitment and attraction of competent workers to state jobs. This includes salary, labor conditions, shortage of competent workers, and inadequate budgetary allocation to facilitate the hiring process, among others. This can be addressed through collaboration with institutions offering the services to establish initiatives that promote a better workforce, increasing budgetary allocation, and offering better salaries.
Works cited
Bergal, Jenni. “Hiring Cybersecurity Staff Is Hard for States.” Itbusinessedge, 2015, https://www.govtech.com/security/Hiring-Cybersecurity-Staff-Is-Hard-for-States.html.
Corrin, Amber. “Is There a Cybersecurity Workforce Crisis?” FCW, 2013, https://fcw.com/articles/2013/10/15/cybersecurity-workforce-crisis.aspx.
Coulson, Tony, Megan Mason, and Vincent Nestler. "Cyber Capability Planning and the Need for an Expanded Cybersecurity Workforce." Communications of the IIMA 16.2 (2018): 2.
Crumpler, William, and James A. Lewis. "The Cybersecurity Workforce Gap." Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, DC.[Online]. Available: https://www. csis. org/analysis/cybersecurityworkforce-gap (2019).
Henry, Adam P. "Mastering the Cyber Security Skills Crisis." (2017).
Morris, Susan. "Addressing The Cybersecurity Workforce Shortage: It’S A State Of Emergency - Training Industry". Training Industry, 2017, https://trainingindustry.com/articles/it-and-technical-training/addressing-the-cybersecurity-workforce-shortage-its-a-state-of-emergency/. Accessed 30 Nov 2019.
Poremba, Sue Marquette. “State Governments Failing in Cybersecurity.” Itbusinessedge, 2015, https://www.itbusinessedge.com/blogs/data-security/state-governments-failing-in-cybersecurity.html.
