Cybersecurity Quest Sends States to Vets, Students and Women

Cybersecurity is the most pressing issue for state information technology officials, as hackers and cybercriminals increasingly take aim at government networks, which contain information such as Social Security, bank account and credit card numbers of millions of people and businesses. But hiring and keeping qualified IT staffers, particularly cybersecurity experts, continues to be a serious problem for states, according to a recent survey of state chief information officers. Job candidates “don’t perceive state government as an attractive and challenging work environment,” the report found.State cyber salaries generally can’t match those in private industry and it’s often hard to move up the ladder in state government. And the disappearance of generous government retirement plans is making the jobs less appealing to cyber professionals. Gatewood recommended that states rethink those requirements and seek out nontraditional job candidates who have different types of backgrounds, such as gamers, code writers, and law enforcement and military officials.