The government wants more citizens to be information technology security specialists, according to a report by Tech News World.
A new cooperative initiative between public and private sector groups aims to encourage an increase of gravitation toward a much needed cyber defense force.
The Education Department and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, along with private sector participants, have put together an initiative to promote programs to train the next-generation cyber force.
The agencies are aiming to promote cybersecurity education programs in career and technical education, K-12 schools and higher education. Through the collaboration, the participants plan to take part in creating suggested guidelines for cyber education, according to the report.
“With cyberthreats on the rise, career opportunities in cybersecurity will continue to grow, and students need to have access to the necessary foundational education and other prerequisites needed to pursue them,” said Ernest McDuffie of NIST, lead manager for the National Initiative for Cyber Security Education.
While NICE is looking to up education in cyber related fields, NIST has also recently issued a framework to define cybersecurity professional requirements, especially since cybersecurity duties have become an add on and not always part of a position in itself, says the report.
This is where the private sector has an additional role in the process, since NIST has made the framework available for comment and suggestion. As the private sector can make suggestions, it too can learn from the public sector framework, according to the report.
“By defining some common language about the workforce, it will be easier for all sectors to understand their own needs and requirements and better communicate them to educators and trainers so they can better prepare the future workforce for the actual needs of all sectors public and private,” McDuffie said.
