Cyber skillsIdentifying students cognitively equipped to succeed in cybersecurity

Published 29 October 2015

The University of Maryland Center for Advanced Study of Language (CASL) will partner with the U.S. Air Force to conduct a two-year study designed to advance the cyber workforce. The Air Force says that by assessing abilities rather than knowledge, it will broaden its cyber pipeline while improving outcomes and maintaining a highly skilled workforce.

The University of Maryland Center for Advanced Study of Language (CASL)will partner with the U.S. Air Force to conduct a two-year study designed to advance the cyber workforce. 

U Maryland reports that the Air Force Cyber Aptitude and Talent Assessment (AF-CATA) will enable decision makers to identify candidates who are cognitively equipped to succeed in cybersecurity, determine what position each candidate is best suited for, and suggest training to broaden their knowledge base and strengthen their cyber skills. The Air Force says that by assessing abilities rather than knowledge, it will broaden its cyber pipeline while improving outcomes and maintaining a highly skilled workforce.

“Developing the AF-CATA is a great opportunity for CASL because we are taking on a new client to do work that will fill a huge need in the military workforce,” said Dr. Susan G. Campbell, CASL Research Associate. “The research we do for the Air Force will also apply broadly to improving civilian selection in both the private and public sectors, as well as broadening the talent pool for university cybersecurity programs. We are drawing on years of experience with designing tests to predict performance in intensive training settings and at elite levels of performance and applying that expertise to a new domain that is vital to national security.”

UMD notes that the AF-CATA is being developed using the research and science behind CASL’s Defense Language Aptitude Battery 2 (DLAB2). DLAB2 was designed to assess a student’s potential for learning a foreign language and help decision makers select students for appropriate languages to study. The AF-CATA will also include a cognitive aptitude assessment to determine success as a cyber operator, or in other specialized fields, positions requiring skills in defensive and offensive cyber operations.