White House to Host National Cyber Workforce Education Summit

On July 19, the White House will host a National Cyber Workforce and Education Summit to tackle the ongoing cybersecurity workforce shortage. Led by National Cyber Director Chris Inglis, the summit will address the workforce shortage and brainstorm solutions and educational initiatives to fill positions across the country.

“With approximately 700,000 cybersecurity positions open, America faces a national security challenge that must be tackled aggressively,” the White House’s press release stated.

“During the Summit, participants will help chart a path toward a more secure future in which all Americans have the opportunity to raise the bar on cybersecurity through greater awareness, education, and training. The Summit will also serve as a call to action – to ensure that all Americans can capitalize on the benefits of the digital domain and to ensure that our Nation carries through on the positive opportunities ahead of us.”

Analysis from (ISC)² found in November 2021 that the cybersecurity workforce gap narrowed for the second consecutive year, but the global workforce still must grow by 65 percent in order to effectively defend critical assets and data.

For healthcare, a sector that is already facing workforce shortages in patient care settings, short-staffed cybersecurity teams may result in weakened cyber defenses and burnout.

Log4j vulnerabilities also put significant strain on an already overburdened cybersecurity workforce, another (ISC)² report found. Because Log4j is so widely used, unpatched vulnerabilities could have negative security consequences for healthcare and other sectors if not patched immediately. As a result, the cybersecurity workforce had to work overtime to secure systems and mitigate risk.

At the National Cyber Workforce and Education Summit, participants will discuss the need to create and prioritize new pathways to cybersecurity jobs, including via non-traditional training opportunities and classes at community colleges.

Summit participants will also discuss and bring attention to the fact that “the United States has an opportunity to build pipelines for historically untapped talent, including underserved and diverse communities, to reach jobs that often pay well and do not require a four-year degree.,” the press release continued.

The summit will also address the role of cyber training and education in empowering society and enabling people to be “successful in our digital economy.”

Mark Odom, vice president and CISO of Jefferson Health, told HealthITSecurity in a previous interview about his team’s strategies for tackling the cybersecurity workforce shortage. The strategies included trying to reduce the barriers to entry by hiring entry-level talent, leaning on technology to fill in workforce gaps, and avoiding workforce burnout among existing employees by giving them time to follow their passions.