April 27, 2014
Red tape, ‘tattoo-aversion’ snarls government hiring of cybersecurity experts
Reuters, April 26, 2014
In the race to attract cybersecurity experts to protect the government’s computer networks, the Department of Homeland Security has a handicap money can’t fix.
Navigating the federal hiring system takes many months, which is too long in the fast-paced tech world.
“Even when somebody is patriotic and wants to do their duty for the nation, if they’re really good they’re not going to wait six months to get hired,” said Mark Weatherford, the former cyber chief at DHS.
After a spate of national security leaks and with cybercrime on the rise, the department is vying with the private sector and other three-letter federal agencies to hire and retain talent to secure federal networks and contain threats to American businesses and utilities.
Phyllis Schneck, the former chief technology officer at security software company McAfee Inc who succeeded Weatherford in August, asked a U.S. Senate committee for help.
“The hiring process is very, very difficult,” she said.
Cyber experts can command higher salaries - in some cases up to six figures more - at private companies, Schneck said, but national security offers a “higher calling” and valuable experience.
“People say the good talent doesn’t come because we can’t pay them,” she said. “We could actually use our mission to outdo some of those salaries they’re offered. But we have to have the flexibility and some additional competitiveness to bring them inside.”
TATTOOED TALENT NEED NOT APPLY
The Homeland Security Department, created after the September 11, 2001, attacks, is playing catchup with the Pentagon’s larger and more established cybersecurity operations at Cyber Command and the National Security Agency.
Not only does DHS lack the enhanced hiring powers of its military counterpart and the agility private companies offer, but the rigid bureaucracy of the 240,000-employee agency can foster an inside-the-box culture.
“There’s a lot of really smart, scary cybersecurity professionals out there who also happen to have pink hair and tattoos,” said Weatherford.
But you won’t find them at DHS, which also is averse to hiring cyber experts without a college degree, he said.
“Some of the smartest and most talented people I know in this business don’t have a degree,” said Weatherford, who left the agency a year ago for the Chertoff Group consulting firm, founded by a previous DHS secretary, Michael Chertoff.
DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson, who took office in December, has promised to get personally involved in recruiting and make “new hiring and pay flexibility to recruit cybersecurity talent” a legislative goal.
Specifically, DHS wants the secretary to be able to make direct appointments and reform job descriptions and requirements for certain cybersecurity positions, and to set salaries and offer additional incentives, a department official said
At a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on March 26, ranking Republican Senator Tom Coburn assured Schneck, “we’re going to get you the capability to hire the people you need.”
Coburn and Democratic Chairman Thomas Carper are working on a measure to help DHS boost its cyber workforce by giving it the same hiring and compensation powers as the Defense Department, a committee aide said.
The federal government follows a strict hiring protocol that includes a long application, background check and in some cases a security clearance. It can take from a few months to more than a year, said Max Stier, president of the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service.
Red tape, ‘tattoo-aversion’ snarls government hiring of cybersecurity experts
Reuters, April 26, 2014
In the race to attract cybersecurity experts to protect the government’s computer networks, the Department of Homeland Security has a handicap money can’t fix.
Navigating the federal hiring system takes many months, which is too long in the fast-paced tech world.
“Even when somebody is patriotic and wants to do their duty for the nation, if they’re really good they’re not going to wait six months to get hired,” said Mark Weatherford, the former cyber chief at DHS.
After a spate of national security leaks and with cybercrime on the rise, the department is vying with the private sector and other three-letter federal agencies to hire and retain talent to secure federal networks and contain threats to American businesses and utilities.
Phyllis Schneck, the former chief technology officer at security software company McAfee Inc who succeeded Weatherford in August, asked a U.S. Senate committee for help.
“The hiring process is very, very difficult,” she said.
Cyber experts can command higher salaries - in some cases up to six figures more - at private companies, Schneck said, but national security offers a “higher calling” and valuable experience.
“People say the good talent doesn’t come because we can’t pay them,” she said. “We could actually use our mission to outdo some of those salaries they’re offered. But we have to have the flexibility and some additional competitiveness to bring them inside.”
TATTOOED TALENT NEED NOT APPLY
The Homeland Security Department, created after the September 11, 2001, attacks, is playing catchup with the Pentagon’s larger and more established cybersecurity operations at Cyber Command and the National Security Agency.
Not only does DHS lack the enhanced hiring powers of its military counterpart and the agility private companies offer, but the rigid bureaucracy of the 240,000-employee agency can foster an inside-the-box culture.
“There’s a lot of really smart, scary cybersecurity professionals out there who also happen to have pink hair and tattoos,” said Weatherford.
But you won’t find them at DHS, which also is averse to hiring cyber experts without a college degree, he said.
“Some of the smartest and most talented people I know in this business don’t have a degree,” said Weatherford, who left the agency a year ago for the Chertoff Group consulting firm, founded by a previous DHS secretary, Michael Chertoff.
DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson, who took office in December, has promised to get personally involved in recruiting and make “new hiring and pay flexibility to recruit cybersecurity talent” a legislative goal.
Specifically, DHS wants the secretary to be able to make direct appointments and reform job descriptions and requirements for certain cybersecurity positions, and to set salaries and offer additional incentives, a department official said
At a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on March 26, ranking Republican Senator Tom Coburn assured Schneck, “we’re going to get you the capability to hire the people you need.”
Coburn and Democratic Chairman Thomas Carper are working on a measure to help DHS boost its cyber workforce by giving it the same hiring and compensation powers as the Defense Department, a committee aide said.
The federal government follows a strict hiring protocol that includes a long application, background check and in some cases a security clearance. It can take from a few months to more than a year, said Max Stier, president of the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service.
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