Jeanette Manfra, a cybersecurity official at the Department of Homeland Security, said DHS considers the lack of cyber professionals a threat to national security and is now prioritizing the development of a workforce training initiative for such professionals, TechCrunch reported Friday.
“It’s a national security risk that we don’t have the talent regardless of whether it’s in the government or the private sector,†Manfra, assistant director for cybersecurity for DHS’ Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, said at the TechCrunch Disrupt SF event. “We have a massive shortage that is expected that will grow larger.â€
She cited the need for critical collaboration between government agencies and tech community to address the cyber talent shortage and suggested the idea of providing scholarships to cyber experts to work for the government for a three- to five-year term before transitioning to the private sector.
“It builds a community of people with shared experience [and] in security we’re all trying to do the same things,†Manfra added.