Sure, the president's consumed with health care, climate change and plans to re-regulate the financial markets. But the series of cyberattacks that shut down some government and financial Web sites this month exposed what many experts believe to be an Achilles' heel in the federal bureaucracy: a shortage of qualified workers who can fend off hackers, virus writers, criminal groups and even terrorist organizations intent on commandeering specific cybernetworks.
The Obama administration began to address the threat in May, creating the
as-yet-unfilled position of cybersecurity coordinator to better synchronize agencies' efforts and assure they have the budgets to improve defenses. But though Obama declared cybersecurity "one of the most serious economic and national security challenges we face as a nation," experts say his biggest challenge might be building a well-trained work force to counter the threat.
The Partnership for Public Service detailed the extent of the manpower shortage in a new report it released on Wednesday, citing the cumbersome federal hiring process, the lack of government-wide certification standards and low salaries as reasons.
The response at most agencies has been to turn to outside contractors to perform sensitive work. That's led to situations such as the one at the Department of Homeland Security, where contractors accounted for 83 percent of the chief information officer's staff last year.
The report urged the White House cyber czar to enhance training and giving departments expanded authority to hire specialized talent. And it urged Congress to ramp up funding for training programs and scholarships to build a pipeline of qualified workers. One initiative is the Roosevelt Scholars Act, promoted by Sen. George V. Voinovich, R-Ohio, and Rep. David E. Price, D-N.C., which would provide scholarships in mission-critical fields in exchange for commitments to work in government service.
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