Cybersecurity Workforce Crisis in State Governments

IT departments at the state level are responsible for computer systems belonging to many agencies, from environmental regulation to health and human agencies. The information systems range from websites and portals used for many data-rich services such as driver’s license renewal to enrolling for healthcare services (Bergal, 2017). For this reason, it is a necessity for states to not just hire more workers but also retain the ones they have. It is imperative that they accomplish this in spite of the lingering issue of budget cuts compared with private enterprises. According to a NASCIO study that surveyed 48 IT chiefs, many challenges were identified; one was salary and pay grades that were a stumbling block in attracting and retaining employees.

Cybersecurity experts are in demand mainly because there s a shortage. They, therefore, ask for premium salaries that states cannot afford. The average annual pay for a cybersecurity expert working in state governments was $76000, while it was $95000 in the private sector (Bergal, 2015). Another problem identified is the retirement of existing cybersecurity experts. In Maine, it was reported that 24% of the experts would retire in 2015 (Bergal, 2015). The irony is illustrated by the fact that most states are in rural areas and need to offer higher salaries to attract talent, but they do the opposite (Molis, 2019). It is not merely about pay but also location and career progression.

Why Hiring is a Problem for State: Cybersecurity Specific

Cybersecurity workers shortage is a global problem. It is caused by many factors, the chief of which is the shortage of cybersecurity workers in general. According to a report (Loeb, 2015) in which 649 cybersecurity experts were surveyed globally, 74% had reported increased attacks from the previous year while 82% said they expected to be attacked again in 2015 (Loeb, 2015). It was also reported that less than 50% had assurance that their current teams could handle their current threats. This report showed that it is not that they were not aware of the problem but that there no people to hire. Another reason why there is a lingering cybersecurity problem among state governments is that the current cybersecurity training has not been able to match the needs of the field. CISOs and CIOs know that attacks could happen any day; for this reason, they expect workers to have the skills to address issues from day one.

One more reason for states having problems hiring cybersecurity experts is the rate at which the nature of threats evolves. It is not that academic institutions do not train enough experts than, for instance, doctors, but security threats evolve at such a fast pace that any current breed of experts cannot contain the avalanche. Another cause for the problems is the lack of workforce planning specific to cybersecurity. Because of the fast way the industry evolves, organizations find it challenging to implement workforce structures around cybersecurity departments. With so much talent entering and leaving, compounded with the workload present in organizations, it is hard to establish a training system; this results in disarray that becomes endemic in many organizations.

Why Hiring is a Problem for States: General Reasons

Poor Salary Packages

There is a shortage of cybersecurity experts because of the increasing threats and skill level required. As a result, hiring organizations are supposed to offer competitive packages to attract top talent. States are hounded by budget shortfalls that hamper their ability to compete with private enterprises (“State IT Workforce”, 2015). As pointed out, the average salary for a cybersecurity expert employed by the state was $76000, while the private sector was $95000 (Bergal, 2015). This is a huge difference that can significantly affect talent retention.

Competition from Private Sector

The private sector offers more attractive opportunities for cybersecurity experts in salary and benefits and career growth opportunities. In mega-rich enterprises such as Amazon and Google, employees work with some cutting-edge technologies that may not be present in state agencies. Moreover, government agencies are known for bureaucracy which applies even when implementing new ideas, which could discourage highly creative employees (Hamilton, 2020). State employees also complain about bosses who are unwilling to listen to ideas; when one considers the bureaucracy that comes with implementing new ideas, it is no surprise that the ideas get stonewalled.

Hiring Processes

The typical government agency hiring process takes months. Most of the time, the entire process will take more than double the time it takes in the private sector. By the time applicants are being called for interviews, they have alr