We wanted to draw your attention to a few amendments that were adopted as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that encourage the recruitment and training of additional cybersecurity workers. The United States military plays a large role in our nations cyber defense, the need for additional training and workers is critical to protecting our citizens.
An amendment by Rep. Hanna (NY) directs the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies to provide additional assistance to small business development centers “in developing or enhancing cybersecurity infrastructure, cyber threat awareness and cyber training programs for employees.” Another amendment offered by Rep. Aguilar (CA) instructs the Army and the Air Force to “carry out a pilot program to improve the ability of the Army and the Air Force, respectively, to recruit cyber professionals.” Rep. Sewell (AL) also introduced an amendment encouraging the cyber institute to place a special emphasis on education facilities in rural areas.
High skilled workers to protect our nation’s critical cyber infrastructure are in great demand and these important inclusions to the NDAA will be an additional step in protecting our country’s networks. CompTIA has been working with Congressional and Pentagon leaders for a number of years pushing for increased training and certification for our cyber workforce. We have also been advocating for the need for small and medium sized business to have the tools and resources they need to mitigate cybersecurity risks.
The House passed their version of the NDAA earlier this week. The Senate is planning to take up their version of the NDAA next week and then we will need to wait for the two chambers to conference their bills for final passage. We will keep you posted as this bill continues to work its way through the legislative process.
