Anyone who runs a small business knows that good help is hard to find these days. As of last month, the country’s unemployment rate was at 3.6% with some 5.9 million currently seeking a job.
Skilled cybersecurity professionals remain especially difficult to find – as there simply aren’t enough workers for all the current openings. To address the need in the government sector, two Senate lawmakers introduced a pair of bipartisan bills that would create a civilian cyber “reserve” pilot program for both the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
U.S. Senators Jacky Rosen (D-Nevada) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee) introduced the legislative package of the two bills to strengthen the nation’s cybersecurity workforce and to support federal response to cyber threats. These bills would authorize the DoD and DHS to recruit qualified civilian cybersecurity personnel to serve in reserve capacities to ensure the U.S. government has the talent needed to defeat, deter, or respond to malicious cyber activity, especially at times of the greatest need.
“Cybersecurity threats targeting the United States continue to grow in scale and scope, demonstrating the urgent need for robust civilian cyber reserves capable of addressing these threats and protecting our nation,” said Senator Rosen in a statement. “Our bipartisan legislation will help ensure the U.S. government can leverage existing cybersecurity talent from the private sector to help our nation deter and swiftly respond to cyberattacks.”
Limited Talent Pool – Greater Threats
Federal agencies have long experienced a shortage of cybersecurity talent. This is due to competition from the private sector, which can typically offer higher pay and provide greater benefits – but may often require the same level of background checks, which can reduce the time to hire.
According to the federal watchdog Government Accountability Office (GAO), the consistent shortage of cybersecurity personnel represents a high risk to national security. The GAO warned that federal agencies and other entities needed to take urgent action to implement a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy. Progress has been made in recent years, but efforts to attract talent continue to fall short.
There have also been a number of high-profile cyber attacks on the nation’s critical infrastructure, including the May 2021 ransomware attack directed against Colonial Pipeline, which supplies 45% of the East Coast’s diesel, gasoline, and jet fuel.
“Cybersecurity threats targeting the United States continue to grow in scale and scope, demonstrating the urgent need for robust civilian cyber reserves capable of addressing these threats and protecting our nation,” Senator Rosen also warned.
“Our bipartisan legislation will help ensure the U.S. government can leverage existing cybersecurity talent from the private sector to help our nation deter and swiftly respond to cyberattacks,” added Rosen, who is the first and only former computer programmer to serve in the United States Senate.
Second Times the Charm?
This new legislative package matches recommendations from the National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service report and the March 2020 Cyberspace Solarium Commission (CSC) report to establish a civilian cyber reserve corps. Under the bipartisan bills, participation in the Civilian Cybersecurity Reserve would be voluntary and by invitation only, but would not include members of the military Selected Reserve.
“The Solarium Commission understands the clear need for an ability to surge qualified cybersecurity personnel to support the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security during a crisis,” explained Mark Montgomery, executive director of CSC 2.0. “These bills provide a pilot program to address this exact challenge. This readiness problem has been identified for several years, it needs to be addressed now.”
The bills seem like a step in the right direct, but this is actually the second time the legislation has been put before lawmakers. Last year, the same legislation were introduced by Senator Rosen, with the support of Senator Blackburn, and it passed the Senate during the lame-duck session in December. However, it did not have companion legislation in the House of Representatives and didn’t receive a vote before the end of the 117th Congress.
