Among the slew of cybersecurity bills signed into law at the end of 2014 are the Cybersecurity Workforce Assessment Act, which orders DHS to examine where critical cyber positions are located within the department, its readiness and capacity to meet its cyber missions, and the types of positions. (Language in the Border Patrol Agent Pay Reform Act, which was just signed into law as well, pushes the department to get a handle on its cybersecurity workforce via inventory and ensuring that proper job codes are applied.)
The CWAA, HR-2952, requires DHS to develop a comprehensive workforce strategy to enhance the readiness, capacity, training, recruitment, and retention of the DHS cybersecurity workforce with a multi-phased recruitment plan, a 5-year implementation plan, and a 10-year projection of cybersecurity workforce needs.
The plan must also describe any obstacles impeding the hiring and development of a cybersecurity workforce at DHS (DHS just received authority to establish cybersecurity positions in the excepted service – as DoD has been able to do, under S-1691), and any gaps and plans to fill them.
