The government has a dearth of cybersecurity talent and agencies are vying to attract people with the skills to secure federal networks and ward off attacks ranging from low-level hackers to nation states. But the oft-criticized federal hiring process runs into a unique problem when it comes to cybersecurity: many potential employees honed their cyber skills engaging in activities that are less than legal.
How can agencies meet this significant and timely challenge while finding employees that fit the federal mold?
“The biggest challenge we have across the whole federal government is finding the right skills and talent and resources to do the heavy lifting we have to do across the board, particularly in the cyber area,” said Federal CIO Tony Scott. “It’s the hardest recruiting I’ve ever done — in the public sector or the private sector.”
Scott said his office has been focusing on training current employees on new skillsets, as well as bringing in fresh talent to fill out the ranks. Finding the right people with strong cybersecurity skills has been difficult, however.
“We try to do a higher-level assessment of where do we have gaps in talent. Cyber is one of those areas – that would be no surprise to anybody,” he said. However, “The sheer number of people we have probably isn’t sufficient to meet the demand today.”
But rules on past behavior might exclude some of the top talent the government is interested in recruiting.
One such potential employee who applied for a job with the FBI in 2010 said she believes she was denied the position after she admitted to participating in file sharing — downloading copyrighted music and videos — in the past.
The applicant, who asked not to be named, went on to work in library science in the public sector briefly before moving on to jobs in the private sector.
File sharing is a mild example in a community where many of the most talented people cut their teeth doing things that skirt the lines of legality — if not crossing them outright.
The FBI declined to comment for this story, though a spokesperson pointed to a list of disqualifying criteria potential applications should review before applying for a job with the bureau.
The Office of Personnel Management conducts background investigations for most federal agencies but merely passes that information along. Decisions on whether to hire someone and what security level and access they are granted are made at the agency level.
“In some cases, those folks, because of their background or past experiences just aren’t going to be eligible to be federal employees,” Scott said. “But maybe they can work for a contractor or somebody else in a different way and lend their services, or work in a consultant capacity.”
Scott also suggested pairing these people with longstanding and trusted employees who can ensure they stay on the straight-and-narrow.
“You want people with experience, you want people with the right kinds of skills. But, at the same time, you’ve got to be super cautious, especially when it comes to national security,” Scott said. “I don’t have an easy answer on that one.”
