Tag Archives: workforce

White House preps order to clarify top cyber roles in federal government

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The Biden administration is working on an executive order that spells out the responsibilities of myriad top cybersecurity officials in the federal government, National Cyber Director Chris Inglis said Wednesday. Specifically, the idea would be to solidify the position of his office, only established by law in January, Inglis told the House Homeland Security Committee. “The statute has gone a long way, and the policies that we have described, have gone a a further distance in describing the what the roles and responsibilities are of the various layers in this space,” Inglis told the panel. “We are in discussion within the White House about when and how to effect an executive order that would bring additional clarity to these roles and responsibilities.” It would be the second major cybersecurity executive order of the administration, following on May’s sweeping directive for federal agencies and contractors to improve their digital defenses. The […]

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CISA starts identifying targets most necessary to protect from hacking

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The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has begun working to map out the U.S. critical infrastructure that, if hacked, could result in serious consequences for national security and economic interests, CISA Director Jen Easterly said Friday. Labeling such infrastructure is the subject of a proposal of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, a congressional committee, which recommended identifying “systemically important critical infrastructure,” or SICI. Lawmakers have introduced SICI legislation in recent months, but Easterly said her Department of Homeland Security agency is proceeding ahead with or without a bill. “Notwithstanding whether this ends up in legislation or not, and I certainly hope it does, we are already thinking through the model,” she said at an event hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “We’re in a state now where a critical infrastructure is much more vulnerable than it should be. And frankly, that’s what I worry about most every day.” […]

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National Cyber Director Chris Inglis, new cyber kid on the federal block, begins to stake a claim

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National Cyber Director Chris Inglis is fleshing out what, exactly, his new office plans to do with itself. With a “strategic intent statement,” a personnel move, a pair of interviews and a newspaper op-ed, Inglis and his office on Thursday provided their most concrete objectives to date for a White House post that sprung into existence in January, and that Inglis won confirmation for in June. He joined a crowded field of feds focused on cyber, from other offices within the White House to departments and agencies like the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency and the National Security Agency. Inglis said Thursday that it’s a natural, when looking at the disparate organizations in the federal government with cybersecurity responsibilities, to wonder who’s in charge. But he said there were “more appropriate” questions. “How do we bring coherence, how do drive public-private collaboration, how do we have […]

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Federal CISO Chris DeRusha appointed deputy national cyber director, will serve both roles

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Federal Chief Information Security Officer Chris DeRusha, who has played an integral part in responding to the SolarWinds hack, is getting a second gig as deputy national cyber director for federal cybersecurity. National Cyber Director Chris Inglis hailed DeRusha’s appointment on Twitter Thursday. “Personally announcing Federal CISO Chris DeRusha as the new Deputy National Cyber Director for Federal Cybersecurity,” Inglis tweeted. “We are excited to see how Chris’s dual designation as Federal CISO at @OMBPress will improve federal coherence in the cyber domain.” DeRusha steps into his additional role at a time when questions persist on Capitol Hill about the breakdown of cyber roles within the federal bureaucracy. The national cyber director’s office is the newest addition to that bureaucracy, established only this year. The office is coming into being as the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity Infrastructure and Security Agency is increasingly focused on incident response and information sharing in […]

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CISA selects Kim Wyman, GOP official who criticized false election fraud claims, as election security leader

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The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency named a Republican secretary of state who has challenged GOP attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential race as its top election security official on Tuesday. Kim Wyman, Washington’s secretary of state since 2013, will take the job of senior election security lead at CISA, the Department of Homeland Security’s primary cybersecurity arm. “Her decades of experience, unparalleled expertise, and unimpeachable integrity have earned her bipartisan respect at every level of government,” said CISA Director Jen Easterly. “Free and fair elections are a cornerstone of our democracy; Kim and I share a common view that ensuring the security of our elections must be a non-partisan effort.” CNN first reported that the White House was expected to name Wyman on Monday. CISA hopes her state experience will bolster relationships with election administrators across the U.S., although Republicans who have pushed for ballot reviews in states such […]

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Seven years later, DHS set to roll out dramatic changes to system for hiring cyber pros

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Soon, a cybersecurity professional at the Department of Homeland Security could make as much money as the vice president of the United States, $255,800 — or more, up to $332,100, if they’re in a geographic market where that salary makes the offer competitive. It’s just one feature of a dramatic overhaul of how DHS hires cyber personnel rolling out on Nov. 15 after seven years in the making. The Cyber Talent Management System dispenses with traditional federal job classifications in place since 1949, changes how applicants prove themselves, ties pay increases to something other than longevity of service and much more. At a time when private sector organizations and government agenies struggle to recruit and retain cyber personnel, DHS officials and outside observers alike are hopeful the system will deliver results. It’s a priority not just for DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas but for the chief of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure […]

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Burnout adds to cyber talent crisis, forcing bosses to get creative with hiring

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Outdated hiring practices in the cybersecurity sector aren’t as easy to ignore as they once were. While organizations have sought to fill security-related roles — there are nearly 900,000 open positions in the U.S. alone, by one 2020 count — existing professionals have spent nearly two years adjusting to widespread remote work, fending off hackers while balancing family responsibilities amid a pandemic that killed more than 700,000 Americans. Meanwhile, attackers have tightened their focus on critical infrastructure in the U.S., extorting hospitals and schools at a rate that leads to feelings of exhaustion more often than hope. The situation is forcing organizations to re-examine their recruiting strategies in a way that aims to expand the talent pool and support existing employees, according to Mari Galloway, CEO and founding board member of Women’s Society of CyberJutsu, a nonprofit dedicated to building awareness about career opportunities “I have burnout moments probably every […]

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As attention grows, #ShareTheMicInCyber leaders explain why mid-career talent matters

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#ShareTheMicInCyber, a group dedicated to boosting diversity in the cyber field, will host its fourth online conversation pairing Black practitioners with allies in the security sector to highlight Black talent. “Individual action is extremely important and can catalyze collective action,” co-founder Camille Stewart said at CyberWeek, a Scoop News Group event. “Grassroots movements like #ShareTheMicInCyber can help break down the trust silos that plague our industry and cripple progress.” The lesson seems especially pertinent as government agencies have in recent months had to grapple with the challenge of filling critical cybersecurity jobs. An upcoming #ShareTheMicEvent, scheduled for Oct. 22, will focus on public-private partnership, and include high profile cybersecurity leaders like Rob Joyce, cybersecurity director at the National Security Agency. “Getting this right is mission-critical,” co-founder Lauren Zabierek explained. “And it’s not just a job for HR or for the company’s diversity, equity and inclusion team. It’s on all of […]

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DHS hails cybersecurity hiring blitz that puts dent in thousands of vacancies

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The Department of Homeland Security is touting its “most successful cybersecurity hiring initiative” ever after bringing on nearly 300 pros, with job offers extended to 500 more. It’s a figure significantly higher than the goal of 200 hires established under a two-month “Cybersecurity Workforce Sprint.” But it’s also still just a dent, going 12% of the way toward filling the more than 2,000 vacancies, by DHS’s own accounting. “DHS is dedicating significant energy toward exceeding our cybersecurity hiring goal by recruiting talented experts, investing in diverse talent pipelines, and ensuring equitable access to professional development opportunities at every level,” DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a news release late Thursday. “While I am proud of the progress we have made to date, we still have more work to do.” It’s been a long, slow climb for DHS to bring on cyber personnel, but the “sprint” is the latest sign of […]

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Senate confirms cybersecurity-focused Alejandro Mayorkas as DHS secretary

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The Senate on Tuesday voted to confirm Alejandro Mayorkas as Homeland Security secretary, a post crucial to the U.S. response to a suspected Russian hacking campaign that has roiled Washington. A former No. 2 Department of Homeland Security official in the Obama administration, Mayorkas flatly told lawmakers last month that U.S. government defenses against hacking were out of step with the urgency of the threats. “The cybersecurity of our nation [will be] one of my highest priorities,” he said during a Senate confirmation hearing. Mayorkas has pledged to strengthen DHS’s cybersecurity work, including by reviewing two big-budget department programs that did not thwart the alleged Russian hack. The spying campaign has exploited software made by SolarWinds and other IT providers, and infiltrated multiple U.S. agencies. Mayorkas, who fled Cuba’s Castro regime as a child, now leads a vast DHS bureaucracy whose charges include defending civilian federal agencies from state-backed hackers and […]

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