What helps, hampers the infosec profession?

According to a report by professor Corey Schou, chairman of the National Colloquium on Information Systems Security Education, efforts to address the shortage of skilled information workers have been hampered by:

* A limited number of faculty with specialties in the subject areas.

* Efforts by industry to recruit the small number of existing active faculty.

* Small graduate and undergraduate student enrollment.

* Lack of relevant curriculum and materials.

* A need to retrain personnel already in the work force.

* A failure to link research to ongoing educational efforts.

A nine-point cooperative plan between government, industry and academia to address the demand for information assurance professionals:

1. Creation of a National Defense Education Act-style scholarship program to encourage undergraduate and graduate students to enter the profession of information assurance/security.

2. Creation of distinguished professorships and associated stipends to encourage faculty both to join and to remain in the academic ranks.

3. Creation of joint research opportunities with government.

4. Creation of mechanisms to maintain currency of teaching and research facilities.

5. Encouragement of government, industry and academic personnel interchanges.

6. Encouragement of joint academic/industry research groups to address current needs.

7. Creation of an information assurance training program to increase the number of faculty teaching and researching in the area.

8. Creation of joint education and training programs to keep current practitioners current.

9. Encouragement of the creation of innovative research outlets for faculty.