Over the past year cyber exploitation activity has grown more sophisticated, more targeted, and more serious. The Global Intelligence Community believes these trends to continue in the coming year. With the realization of the true threat we face from acts of cyber aggression comes a demand for highly qualified resources to protect our information assets and defend our critical infrastructure.
High end recruiting firms like SecurityRecruiter.com that focus on management and leadership are busy these days. The demand is clearly across the entire spectrum from analysts to senior level management positions. Did you know that it has been estimated that only about 30 percent of people can pass a security clearance background investigation? In that past three weeks I personally have had calls/messages from 11 different recruiters seeking candidates for some senior level positions, many of which are around the beltway. This is clearly evidence that the demand for cyber security professional is high and growing. The bullets below also provide insight into the demand growth.
- DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano plans to hire 1,000 security experts over the next three years.
- DoD is expected to recruit, train or contract for nearly 50,000 security experts within the next few years
- A search on cyber security at ClearanceJobs.Com resulted in 284 openings
- A search on cyber security at Monster.Com resulted in 234 openings
Each and every day, each and every hour, cyber attacks are waged against a wide variety of targets on millions of computers and networks around the world. Where will all these trained resources come from to defend against these acts of cyber aggression? One recruiter told me that cyber security positions now demand that candidates have current and relevant training and maintain their level of competency as the threat environment changes.
She went on to say that many candidates stop going to continuing education programs once they get certified, and that is a big mistake. The educational requirements and certifications coupled with the ability to obtain a security clearance will combine to make this a challenge for security firms, the government and military, as well as intelligence organizations around the world.
(Photo: Lockheed Martin)
rent-a-cyber-mercenary
PMF/PMC in the Internet.
Where do I apply? Since this is more or less
a blog post, I’d like to see the main site, or
an app field, so that I may apply if applicable.
The Department of Homeland Security
It takes a certain lifestyle to apply for the more technical positions within this field. Or, at least, the adults who started as kids will always have the edge above those who’s fascinations turned later in life.
“… it has been estimated that only about 30 percent of people can pass a security clearance background investigation?“
Where did you get this grossly overstated estimate? Actually security clearance denials range from 1 to 2 percent. Effective denial rate (due to people who withdraw from the process because they anticipate an unfavorable decision)is only about 4 percent.
I don’t have a diploma or a degree, but neither fact stopped me from getting a job at Intel.
Just be good enough. =)
I have been recruiting in the cleared space for nearly 20 years and 30% sounds right to me given that over 6 million full time college students abuse illegal drugs. When you add other factors the number drops fast. Most students I wok with know what it takes to get cleared and they don’t even apply so the denail rate is kept low.
OMB sec clearance standards are singularly responsible for the kind of foolishness that puts a lot of us at risk…
–A
This reads like a barely veiled advert for the certification process that Kevin’s company provides.
Mr Henderson
To answer your question the number came form an Army Coronal at an intelligence event. The one number that stuck in my mind was that 27% of U.S. citizens has money problems (as represented by credit scores) that are problematic when going for a security clearance. When I pressed he would only say in the low 600s score. Add that to terri’s comment and the other areas like foreign influence and the pool gets really small for TS SCI clearances!
Dig it. I’m in, sign me up.
Saving America, one bit at a time…
I gotta agree with “gsak”. I’m currently in school in a related field. Being a newbie, it always amazes me that people are in my classes with all kind of certs and diplomas that can’t network their way out of a wet paper bag, let alone harden and secure said bag. Some of the brightest people I come across have little if anything by way of certs and diplomas.
Well the problem is that the CERT issue is in several of the currently proposed pieces of legislation. I feel CERTs mean something in the corporate world. This military, defense and intelligence sectors have a view that is greatly different from the general security industry given the classified info they have access too.
Certs and degrees mean almost nothing in this field. Sure lots of guys start off getting a cert in XYZ or a CS degree but it’s like learning to read before taking a math class. What you really need to know you learn once you are out of that. Honestly what you really need is a very logical mind, a true love for it, and the ability to take a problem apart. All the knowledge in the world will do you no good at all if you can’t troubleshoot a problem.
I am happy that the govt. trying to deal with cyber sec. but I can’t help but wonder how good they are going to be at it if they just hire people that can pee in a cup, have a good credit score and can read a brain dump off the internet to pass a cert exam.
I’ve been hearing how there are going to be thousands of jobs in cyber but I’ve yet to see them in the federal sector. Are all the new positions going to be contracting?