Government cyber reskilling programs are just getting started, federal CIO says

Federal Chief Information Officer Suzette Kent says she expects the government’s Cybersecurity Reskilling Academies to keep expanding over the next few years. As part of the Federal Chief Information Officer Council’s work to bolster the federal cyber workforce, the government has gone through two rounds of academies since last year. The first cohort had over 1,500 applications for just 25 slots. Counting the second round of applications, the academies have had more than 2,300 federal employees apply in all, Kent said at a Department of Homeland Security cybersecurity conference Wednesday. “That says something about the level of interest across the federal government,” Kent said. She added that agency feedback has been key to improving the federal cybersecurity workforce, with the administration focused on improving the skill level inside those agencies, particularly in those who primarily work outside of the tech sector. It’s “not to improve just our technology workforce, but our […]

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Cyber scorecard leverages rivalry at DOJ agencies

The Department of Justice uses a cybersecurity scorecard issued at every one of its monthly CIO council meetings to stoke a friendly rivalry between component agencies, a senior official said Tuesday. “We all look very closely at the scores, because it’s reported to the council with everyone right there,” Karl Mathias, the CIO and assistant director of the U.S. Marshals Service told a breakout session at VMWare’s Public Sector Innovation Summit, presented by FedScoop. “I have standing instructions to my CISO,” he added, “I want to see [the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms] in my rearview mirror  on that card. We beat them every time.” Mathias credited Justice Department CIO Joe Klimavicz with the idea. Asked about the basis for the scores, Mathias declined to go into detail, but said basic hygiene measures and patching were included. He told CyberScoop the competition between the dozen-plus components was “good natured and […]

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