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Professionalizing the Nation's Cybersecurity Workforce? Criteria for Decision-Making (2013) / Chapter Skim
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Executive Summary
Pages 1-4

The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
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From page 1...
... The effort to establish a safer and more secure cyberspace will require improvements in many areas, including a cybersecurity workforce that has the capacity and capability to do the job; better tools and techniques that enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of cybersecurity workers; better tools and approaches for risk identification and assessment; better systems design and development; greater incentives to encourage the deployment of better cybersecurity technologies and practices; improvements in end-user behavior through training; and organizational, national, and international measures to deter bad actors. This report considers the role that professionalization might play in ensuring that the United States has a cybersecurity workforce with enough cybersecurity workers (capacity)
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From page 2...
... Cybersecurity is a young field, and the technologies, threats, and actions taken to counter the threats that characterize the endeavor are changing too rapidly to risk imposing the rigidities that typically attend professional status. Some organizations may find that professionalization provides a useful degree of "quality control" for those who work in the field, but professionalization also imposes barriers to those who wish to enter the field at a time when demand for cyber­ security workers exceeds supply.
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From page 3...
... Professionalization is not a proxy for "better," but it may be a useful tool in certain circumstances. The following criteria are suggested to help identify cybersecurity specialties and circumstances where professionalization may be appropriate and to assess the potential effects of different professionalization mechanisms: • Do the benefits of a given professionalization measure outweigh the potential supply restrictions resulting from the additional barriers to entry?
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From page 4...
... It may thus be an effective strategy to encourage, rather than require, the use of certain professionalization mechanisms so as to avoid overly restricting supply in the short term while still establishing a longterm path to enhancing quality. Over time, parts of the cybersecurity field will likely reach the point where professionalization will be warranted.
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Key Terms

  • cybersecurity workers
  • national cybersecurity
  • workforce conclusion
  • cybersecurity specialties
  • cybersecurity work

  • cybersecurity technologies
  • identify cybersecurity
  • cybersecurity knowledge
  • professionalization measure
  • committee understood

  • attend professional
  • stable roles
  • credible evidence
  • professionalization provides
  • skill requirements

  • technical endeavor
  • require improvements
  • current set
  • workers exceeds
  • security workers

  • ethical standards
  • secure cyberspace
  • criteria set
  • tial supply
  • identify criteria

  • candidate outweigh
  • restrictions resulting
  • enhancing quality
  • measure outweigh
  • effective strategy


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