Case Study #3: Is there a cybersecurity workforce crisis in state governments??

Case Scenario:

A membership organization for state government officials has asked your cybersecurity consulting firm to partner with it in developing a one-day workshop on workforce development needs for cybersecurity workers. Your part in this endeavor is to provide the coordinating committee with a position paper which discusses the question: “Is there a cybersecurity workforce crisis in state governments? Your paper should be no more than 3 pages in length and must address both sides of the question (“yes, there is a crisis” and “no, there is not a crisis”).

Research:

• Read / Review the Week 5 readings.
• Research authoritative sources which support the “Yes” side of the question. Here are several sources to help you get started:
  • http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/s…
  • http://www.nga.org/files/live/sites/NGA/files/pdf/2014/14…
  • Comparing Private Sector and Government Worker Salaries http://reason.org/news/show/public-sector-private-sector-salary(This source argues both sides of the compensation / education arguments.)
• Research authoritative sources which support the “No” side of the question. For example, states may have a shortage of workers overall. Or, the lack of competitive compensation claim may be inaccurate. Or, you may find that the shortage of cybersecurity workers is unrelated to the type of employer (that is, everyone is having problems finding qualified personnel).
  • Budgetary Constraints (p. 3, Figure 1.4) http://www.csg.org/knowledgecenter/docs/ta0210workshortage.pdf
  • IT Workforce hiring issues: http://www.nascio.org/Portals/0/Publications/Documents/NASCIO_ITWorkforce_UnderPressure.pdf
  • State vs Private Compensation (see “Conclusions” on p. 15) https://www.aei.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/-biggs-overpaid-or-underpaid-a-statebystate-ranking-of-public-employee-compensation_112536583046.pdf
  • Global talent gap http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/technology/239113-cybersecurity-talent-worse-than-a-skills-shortage-its-a
• Review the best practice recommendations from the NICE report. Select three to five best practices which state governments could benefit from implementing.https://niccs.us-cert.gov/sites/default/files/documents/pdf/best_practices_for_planning_a_cybersecurity_workforce_white%20paper_0_0.pdf
• Review alternative recommendations for attracting and retaining qualified talent (workers) to a state or region. Select 3 or more which you believe would be beneficial for state government hiring efforts for cybersecurity personnel.
  • 7 Ways to Attract and Retain Talent (without having to compete on salaries) http://www.oyginc.com/articles/attractarticle1/
  • Government Needs to Rethink How They Attract IT Talenthttp://www.governing.com/columns/tech-talk/gov-remaking-your-workforce.html
  • About Good Neighbor Next Door (ask yourself if this program or something similar should be extended to cybersecurity personnel) http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/housing/sfh/reo/goodn/gnndabot
• A separate closing section in which you summarize your research and recommendations.

Write:

Write a two to three page position paper which includes a summary of your research. At a minimum, your paper must include the following:

1.An introduction or overview of the cybersecurity workforce issues which impact State governments. This overview should address the political, economic, socio-cultural (included education), and technological factors which contribute to the perceived lack of qualified cybersecurity workers. This introduction should be suitable for an executive audience.

2.A separate section which addresses three to five specific reasons why states have difficulty hiring a sufficient number of trained and qualified cybersecurity workers for positions in state agencies and offices.

3.A separate section which addresses three to five specific “non-cybersecurity” reasons why a workforce shortage affecting state governments may currently exist. You may also choose to argue that the workforce shortage arises out of state budget problems rather than training and education or salary.

4.A recommendations section which addresses three to five marketing or hiring actions which state governments could take to attract cybersecurity talent and reduce or alleviate a cybersecurity workforce shortage for trained and qualified cybersecurity personnel. These recommendations should include several alternative practices which deemphasize salary.

5.A separate closing section in which you summarize your research and recommendations.

Submit For Grading

Submit your case study in MS Word format (.docx or .doc file) using the Case Study #3 Assignment in your assignment folder. (Attach the file.)

Additional Information

• Consult the grading rubric for specific content and formatting requirements for this assignment.
• Your 2-3 page position paper should be professional in appearance with consistent use of fonts, font sizes, margins, etc. You should use headings and page breaks to organize your paper.
• Your paper should use standard terms and definitions for cybersecurity. See Course Content > Cybersecurity Concepts Review for recommended resources.
• The CSIA program recommends that you follow standard APA formatting since this will give you a document that meets the “professional appearance” requirements. APA formatting guidelines and examples are found under Course Resources > APA Resources. An APA template file (MS Word format) has also been provided for your use CSIA_Basic_Paper_Template(APA_6ed,Nov2014).docx.
• You must include a cover page with the assignment title, your name, and the due date. Your reference list must be on a separate page at the end of your file. These pages do not count towards the assignment’s page count.
• You are expected to write grammatically correct English in every assignment that you submit for grading. Do not turn in any work without (a) using spell check, (b) using grammar check, (c) verifying that your punctuation is correct and (d) reviewing your work for correct word usage and correctly structured sentences and paragraphs.
• You are expected to credit your sources using in-text citations and reference list entries. Both your citations and your reference list entries must follow a consistent citation style (APA, MLA, etc.).