CybersecurityDHS struggles with IT hiring

Published 24 March 2011

DHS has actively sought to recruit more employees with critical cyber security skills, but has struggled with internal obstacles that have slowed hiring; in 2010 DHS set a goal of hiring 1,000 employees with cyber security skills in three years, but so far has only managed to hire roughly 200 in 2010 and it plans to hire 100 this year; the new employees will focus on network and systems engineering, incident response, and risk and strategic analysis; obstacles to hiring include lengthy security clearance processing times, noncompetitive pay, and an outdated job classification system

As DHS ramps up its efforts to secure government networks and thwart cyber attacks, it faces several difficulties, chief among them hiring employees with information technology (IT) skills. DHS has actively sought to recruit more employees with critical cyber security skills, but has struggled with internal obstacles that have slowed hiring.

In 2010 DHS set a goal of hiring 1,000 employees with cyber security skills in three years, but so far has only managed to hire roughly 200 in 2010 and it plans to hire 100 this year.

These new hires will be distributed across several DHS agencies including the Secret Service, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Science and Technology Directorate, and the Office of the Chief Information officer.

The new employees will focus on network and systems engineering, incident response, and risk and strategic analysis.

At a recent speech at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano underscored her department’s focus on finding talented IT specialists.

 

Napolitano said, DHS “cannot overstate the need for software engineers and information systems designers. We need communications and data security experts.”

But her department has struggled to hire IT specialists due to obstacles like lengthy security clearance processing times, noncompetitive pay, and an outdated job classification system.

In addition, an uncertain budget climate exacerbates hiring difficulties says DHS chief human capital officer Jeff Neal.

Neal said that agencies are operating under 2010 spending levels and “budgets are in flux right now.”

The government also faces steep challenges from the private sector which is also actively trying to hire employees with IT skills.

 

John Lainhart, the head of IMB a cyber security and privacy firm, said that there is only a small pool of cyber security professionals and meeting DHS’ hiring goals will require converting contractors into federal employees.

According to Ken Ritchhart, the deputy assistant commissioner of CBP’s Office of Information Technology, relying less on IT contractors will actually save the government money. A federal worker costs on average $40,000 less than private contractors including benefits, subsidies, and other costs.

But Ritchhart is concerned that delays in the hiring process would cost the government valuable employees, especially as the economy improves.

He explained “when the economy improves, folks won’t spend six months waiting for a government job,” so it is critical that DHS get these positions filled quickly.

Ritchhart says that the clearance process is the source for the longest delays. At its fastest, some employees have been cleared in three months, but Lainhart said that is not the norm.

“We’ve got to recognize the fact that cyber security really has to go beyond the norm,” he said.