DHS, NSA team on cybersecurity

The National Security Agency and the Homeland Security Department will work together on educational initiatives to strengthen the country's computer infrastructure.

On April 22, officials from NSA and DHS announced the formation of the National Centers of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education. It stems from NSA's Centers of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education Program, which started in 1998 and recognizes 50 universities in 26 states.

"America is already reaping benefits from the current centers," said Daniel Wolf, director of NSA's Information Assurance Directorate, in a statement. "Graduates steeped in information assurance education are now entering the federal and greater American workforce. Those graduates, and graduates to come, are forming the cornerstone for America, taking cybersecurity to the very edges of the National Information Infrastructure and the Global Information Grid."

The National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace, issued in 2002 by the Bush administration, directs the government to foster training and education programs that support computer security needs and responsibilities, and improve existing information assurance programs.

Earlier this month, NSA officials announced they would hire 1,500 people by September and 1,500 employees each year for the next five years. Agency jobs include information technology and acquisition positions in addition to traditional code-making and code-breaking roles, according to an April 7 statement.