GAO said data on cyber positions are incomplete and unreliable and do not reflect the full size and cost of the cyber workforce. Image: Arsenii Palivoda/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffFederal agencies still lack a clear view of their in-house and contractor cyber workforces—particularly the latter—despite OPM, OMB and Office of the National Cyber Director policies emphasizing the need for such data to strengthen and manage those capabilities, the GAO has said.
Using data that is “readily available,” GAO estimated that in the 23 departments and largest independent agencies, nearly 64,000 federal employees and more than 4,000 contractor employees are in such positions, but said those numbers “are incomplete and unreliable and do not reflect the full size and cost of the cyber workforce.”
All but one of those agencies have only partial or no data on their contractor cyber workforces, only four have a documented quality assurance process to ensure accurate data, and only five have standardized procedures for identifying cyber employees, it said.
Further, all but one have used either government-wide or agency-specific incentives for recruiting and retaining employees with those skills—but most did not evaluate their effectiveness, “due, in part, to the lack of visibility into data to support such assessments.”
The report said that the Office of the National Cyber Director neither agreed nor disagreed with recommendations to address workforce data gaps, quality assurance, cyber staff identification, and efforts to assess effectiveness.
However, it noted that “GAO has previously reported on needed improvements in managing the cyber workforce. Since 2019 it has made 64 recommendations to address cyber workforce issues; 32 of these are not yet fully implemented.”
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