Bill Proposes Cyber Workforce Reforms

A bipartisan group of lawmakers on Thursday unveiled yet another bill that would help the government respond to a major cybersecurity attack.

The Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act, sponsored by Sens. Tom Carper, D-Del., Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, includes key provisions that would mandate continuous monitoring and create a new cyber office at the White House. But the bill also includes some provisions to improve the recruitment and retention of the cybersecurity workforce. For example, the bill would require the Office of Personnel Management to reform the way cybersecurity personnel are recruited, hired and trained to ensure the government has the staff necessary to prevent and respond to cyber attacks.

In March, Sens. John (Jay) Rockefeller, D-W.V., and Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, proposed legislation that also would invest in the federal cybersecurity workforce, in part by beefing up scholarship programs and requiring federal agencies to develop strategic cybersecurity workforce plans.