Promoting a cyber and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education, as well as creating cybersecurity scholarships are two key ways federal cybersecurity workforce challenges can be addressed, according to a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report. Cybersecurity skills gaps, being able to recruit and retain qualified staff, and the federal hiring process itself are top challenges for agencies working to ensure they have a strong cybersecurity workforce, GAO explained. “Cybersecurity professionals can help to prevent or mitigate the vulnerabilities that could allow malicious individuals and groups access to federal IT systems,” report authors wrote. “The ability to secure federal systems depends on the knowledge, skills, and abilities of the federal and contractor workforce that uses, implements, secures, and maintains these systems.”

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