The office of cybersecurity and communications within the Department of Homeland Security‘s National Protection and Programs Directorate has a vacancy rate of one-in-five for cybersecurity-related jobs, GovInfo Security reported Friday.Eric Chabrow writes the Government Accountability Office evaluated DHS’ hiring and recruiting efforts in a report and said the vacancy rate was 22 percent as of June.
DHS leaders told GAO the vacancies are partly due to the amount of time required to conduct security checks for clearances, low salaries and not having clearly-defined skill sets for the positions.
NPPD plans to develop initiatives for recruiting and retaining cybersecurity personnel if it has funding for the next fiscal year, Chabrow reports.
