CybersecurityGovernment, private sector prioritize cybersecurity education
As government and private sector organizations transmit and store more information electronically, the need for professionals with skills to protect and evaluate sensitive information is increasing. American companies and government agencies are expanding various initiatives aimed at increasing the number of cybersecurity professionals in the country.
As government and private sector organizations transmit and store more information electronically, the need for professionals with skills to protect and evaluate sensitive information is increasing. American companies and government agencies are expanding various initiatives aimed at increasing the number of cybersecurity professionals in the country. Modeled after the 1950s push to expand education of hard sciences and mathematics among American students, the Obama administration has highlighted cybersecurity education as a vital part of the administration’s Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative.
“Existing cyber-security training and personnel development programs, while good, are limited in focus and lack unity of effort,” according to the administration. “In order to effectively ensure our continued technical advantage and future cyber-security, we must develop a technologically-skilled and cyber-savvy workforce and an effective pipeline of future employees.”
eWeek reports that the National Security Agency (NSA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have sponsored programs at universities under the National Centers of Academic Excellence and Cybersecurity Centers of Excellence initiatives in order to produce a growing number of professionals with training in cybersecurity and cyber intelligence.
“As our planet becomes more interconnected through new technology like cloud computing and the proliferation of mobile devices, interdisciplinary education for cyber security is essential,” said Dr. Mark Harris of the Integrated Information Technology Program at the University of South Carolina.
IBM recently expanded its Cyber Security Innovation Program to eleven universities, including Georgia Institute of Technology and University of South Carolina. The program, which is now active in more than 200 schools worldwide, works with universities to develop curriculum focused on cybersecurity, and to fund cybersecurity research and academic programs. “The program is not about creating cyber warriors, but about training the architects of future security solutions, ” Marisa Viveros, vice president of IBM’s Cyber Security Innovation, told eWeek. “It is really about creating a new set of talent in future employees so they will understand security, no matter their background,” she said. “It does not have to be an engineer; it could be on the business side; it could be in management.”
Cybersecurity professionals are in high demand, according to the International Information Security System Certification Consortium, (ISC)² , which estimates that the demand for U.S. cybersecurity professionals will grow by 11 percent annually through 2020. The U.S. Department of Labor predicts the growth to be twice that estimate.
