It is no secret that the United States does not have enough people who can defend the country from digital intrusions. The government has been aware of this problem for a very long time and has already taken steps to solve it. We are currently two years into Obama’s ten-year plan to develop Science, Technology, and Math (STEM) teachers and he recently requested to Congress for money to retrain 2 million Americans for high-tech work. In addition, a month ago the Pentagon said it needed to increase the U.S. Cyber Command’s workforce by 300% to counter attacks. However, even after all these efforts, last month the demand became even more urgent after the Chinese attempts at cyberespionage.
The deficit of cyber professionals is only going to increase as more companies realize the scale of the danger. With each news article that reveals the need for increased cybersecurity, the demand rises. Luckily, every year for the next five years the number of people working in the cyber industry is going to grow worldwide by 11%. However, it is not enough and there is a lack of computer science graduates that are necessary.
To become a cyber professional working in the government, your record has to be exceptionally clean, making it more difficult to find the right candidates. Because of this they have begun recruiting younger people as early as high school and middle school. In addition, there are 42 states that have certified Centers for Academic Excellence schools, which will pay off with newly trained professionals in the long run. Unfortunately in the near future, we do not have enough cybersecurity professionals for the next five years, and are not training them fast enough. Because of this the private sector and government will be competing each other increasingly for new computer science graduates.
