The Federal Cybersecurity Workforce: Background and Congressional Oversight Issues for the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security

Abstract

The federal cybersecurity workforce is responsible for protecting U.S. government systems and networks against cyber threats and attacks. Federal agencies, however, have reported difficulty in assessing the size and capabilities of their cybersecurity workforces. DOD and DHS, which play prominent roles in the nations cybersecurity posture, have also noted certain obstacles affecting the recruitment and retention of qualified cybersecurity professionals to fulfill their departments cybersecurity missions. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is constructing a dataset to catalog all federal cybersecurity positions in the executive branch. The dataset had not been released to Congress or the public. In addition, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) directed agencies to identify their top five cyber talent gaps by December 31, 2015. Congress has also authorized hiring and pay flexibilities that can be used to fill cybersecurity positions at DOD and DHS. The flexibilities aim to enhance the recruitment and retention of cybersecurity professionals by expediting the federal hiring process and providing such professionals with monetary incentives that are not available to all federal employees. OPM has also established temporary hiring flexibilities for certain DOD and DHS cybersecurity positions. Congress, pursuant to its oversight authority, might seek to increase its awareness and knowledge of these initiatives. OPM is not required to report to Congress on agencies progress in coding their federal cybersecurity positions or in completing the agencys cybersecurity dataset. Further, DOD and DHS are not required to report on the use or effectiveness of certain hiring and pay flexibilities for cybersecurity positions.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 08, 2016
Accession Number
AD1169898

Entities

People

  • Kathryn A. Francis
  • Wendy Ginsberg

Organizations

  • Library of Congress

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Congress
  • Cyberattacks
  • Cybersecurity
  • Cyberspace Operations
  • Department Of Defense
  • Department Of Homeland Security
  • Employment
  • Homeland Security
  • Human Resources
  • Information Systems
  • Law
  • National Governments
  • National Security
  • Personnel Management
  • President (United States)
  • Systems Engineering
  • United States Government

Fields of Study

  • Computer science

Readers

  • Cybersecurity.
  • Defense Acquisition Program Management
  • Government and Public Administration Law.

Technology Areas

  • Cyber