Just finished reading a couple of articles in my Federal Computer Week magazine and thought I would provide some insight into some opportunities.

A recent report released by The Partnership for Public Service stated that the government will be unable to combat cyber threats without "a more coordinated, sustained effort to increase cybersecurity expertise in the federal workforce" and the "pipeline of potential new talent is inadequate."

Because of this lack of talent, government and industry officials have created a new cybersecurity education program. According to one article, "The goal is to identify 10,000 young Americans with the skills to be cybersecurity practitioners, researchers, guardians and cyber warriors."

This program is called the U.S. Cyber Challenge and is being led by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). The major participants are the Air Force Association, the Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center and the SANS Institute.

Now why should I bring this up? I just feel like this could provide excellent opportunities for our local high school students and I believe, if they are properly motivated, they should investigate the possibilities, and if need be, bring this to the attention of their teachers and counselors. This is a national search for talent which could offer some fantastic rewards.

There are currently three ongoing national competitions which have just been initiated. You can check out these three at this address:

http://csis.org/uscc

CyberPatriot

DC3 Digital Forensics Challenge

SANS Network Attack Competition

What benefits could be derived from this? The intent of this search is to identify talented young individuals for participation in cyber education work camps, for scholarships and eventually for internships and employment.

"Alan Paller, the director of research at the SANS Institute, said the CSIS initiative will bring together disparate programs aimed at getting students interested in cybersecurity. By combining these programs, officials hope to increase their visibility and resources, he said. The challenge is just the beginning of a "massive national talent search and talent development program," he said, adding the United States will need about 20,000 to 30,000 trained cybersecurity professionals eventually."

I think that it would be fantastic to see some of our county students participating in cyber camps and receiving scholarships. Unfortunately, it will never happen if you don't try.