Cybersecurity Hiring News: 7/25/12
Who’s Hiring
Telecom, Utilities and Government
A recent report touted that the cybersecurity industry will likely double in value over the next five years, growing to $120.1 billion by 2017. It notes that while defense and aerospace are the biggest cybersecurity consumers today, over the next five years career opportunities in government, utilities and telecom are likely to grow. Demand for cybersecurity talent overseas is also likely to grow exponentially.
Who’s Firing
Everyone in the defense industry, it would seem
With sequester looming over the defense industry reports and exports continue to analyze the figures as they speculate who in the federal and civilian workforce will face the biggest hit. In a recent article in CNN Money, Paul Light the Paulette Goddard Professor of Public Service at New York University, noted that about 80 percent of all IT functions at government agencies are done by contractors. Some agencies are even more heavily dependent on contractors, with the Department of Energy spending about 90 percent of its budget on contractors, according to a GAO report.
Who will get the axe, and is the government really willing to lose its top cybersecurity talent, on either the federal employee or contractor side? If sequester takes effect they may not have a choice, with defense industry leaders continuing to warn they’ll be dropping layoff notices just prior to election day.
Who’s Acquiring:
More Movement into Healthcare IT
SAIC, Inc. announced plans to acquire maxIT Healthcare Holdings. The cost of the transaction is estimated at around $473 million, and will help SAIC expand upon its existing healthcare IT business. The Affordable Care Act and efforts across the Veterans Administration and private sector to boost electronic records keeping have made healthcare IT an emerging area of opportunity, especially for defense IT companies looking to diversify.
Who’s Moving:
Proximity is Good Business
Does proximity matter when it comes to earning intelligence community contracts and business? Those in the know have always known ‘yes, it does.’ IT firm SITEC Consulting recently announced its relocation from the UMBC Research and Technology Park to new office space in Annapolis Junction. The reason for the move? A desire to be in closer proximity to customers at Fort Meade.
Contracts:
Several top defense contractors including BAE, Booz Allen Hamilton, CACI, CTC, SAIC and L-3 were awarded a $5.6 billion, five year contract to provide professional services to support intelligence analysis. The work will be performed worldwide to support the defense department’s global intelligence mission.
In the defense industry’s continued efforts to increase overseas sales to balance lower domestic purchases, ITT Exelis recently announced it has been awarded a $23.6 million foreign military sales contract to provide electronic warfare defensive systems to the Oman Air Force. The work will be performed at the Exelis Electronic Systems Division in Clifton, N.J.
Lindy Kyzer is the editor of ClearanceJobs.com. She loves cybersecurity, social media, and the U.S. military. Have a conference, tip, or story idea to share? Email editor@clearancejobs.com.
