On Oct. 20, the Arlington, Va.-based Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) announced via a press release that it awarded $2 million to two organizations for the development of cyber workforce training programs. The organizations— NPower and CyberWarrior—will focus on the unemployed and underemployed, underserved communities in urban and rural areas, as well as underserved populations including veterans, military spouses, women, and people of color. These awards are the first of their kind from CISA and coincided with the third week of CISA’s Cybersecurity Summit and its theme, “Team Awesome: The Cyber Workforce.”
The Brooklyn-based NPower is a national nonprofit, rooted in community, that is committed to advancing race and gender equity in the tech industry. The Minneapolis-based CyberWarrior Foundation increases opportunity and economic mobility for people of all backgrounds via training, mentorship, and technology.
The release states that “CyberWarrior and NPower will collaborate with CISA to develop a scalable and replicable proof of concept to successfully identify and train talented individuals around the country, helping to address the staggering cybersecurity workforce shortage facing our nation and playing a vital role in meeting the dynamic, innovative needs of the cybersecurity workplace. Tapping into their innovative, non-traditional job training and apprenticeships programs will help the federal government; state, local, tribal, and territorial entities; as well as private sector employers address current and future cyber workforce needs.
The three-year pilot program aims to:
- Develop and implement a comprehensive cybersecurity pathways retention strategy;
- Deliver entry-level cybersecurity training through innovative training hubs;
- Provide hands-on and professional development experience through apprenticeships; and
- Decrease the cybersecurity workforce shortage by placing talented individuals into entry-level cybersecurity jobs.”
CISA director Jen Easterly was quoted in the release saying that “Addressing the cyber workforce shortage requires us to proactively seek out, find, and foster prospective talent from nontraditional places. CISA is dedicated to recruiting and training individuals from all areas and all backgrounds with the aptitude and attitude to succeed in this exciting field. It’s not just the right thing to do; it’s the smart thing to do—for the mission and the country. We’re best positioned to solve the cyber challenges facing our nation when we have a diverse range of thought bringing every perspective to the problem.”
That said, “This latest workforce development effort from CISA that aims to benefit communities and populations that may not currently have access to cybersecurity training programs. The pilot program compliments CISA’s other workforce development initiatives aimed at expanding both the current and future pool of cyber talent, including the CYBER.org initiative and Cyber Education and Training Assistance Program, which target K-12 students and educators, as well as partnerships with organizations such as the Girl Scouts and Girls Who Code.”
According to ISC2.org there are approximately 2.93 million cybersecurity positions open globally. Healthcare organizations are continuously seeing increases in ransomware attacks, in September the Ponemon Institute reported that 67 percent of healthcare organizations were hit by ransomware. And recently, under a proposal from Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren and Democratic Representative Deborah Ross, victims of ransomware attacks would be required to report payments made to hackers within 48 hours—as critical infrastructure, including hospitals, are the main targets for these bad actors.
