The demand for cybersecurity talent has increased for both the public and private sectors due to the growing number of internet-based security threats over the past few years. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 209,000 cybersecurity jobs in the U.S. are unfilled.  

Continuing its observance of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, NNSA is focused on this week's Department of Homeland Security’s Stop.Think.Connect.  theme: The Internet Wants You: Consider a Career in Cybersecurity.

“We are focused on attracting, training and retaining top cyber talent throughout our federal and contractor workforce alike,” said Wayne Jones, NNSA’s chief information officer. 

NNSA, along with every other government agency, has been charged by an Executive Order to ensure that developing the cybersecurity workforce remains a top priority for our mission. 

NNSA established six strategic principles as part of the 2017-2019 Strategic Implementation Plan for information management. One of those six principles is to “invest in employee development to cultivate a high-performing workforce that will support NNSA’s mission today and into the future.” 

This principle signals NNSA’s commitment to growing our existing workforce with the skills to detect, protect and defend against the latest cyber threats.

NNSA has also launched the following initiatives to train its current personnel:

  • Establishing an Enterprise Cybersecurity Awareness Training Program
  • Sponsoring our cyber defenders from across the NNSA to leading training events and hackathons
  • Sharing lessons learned and leveraging cyber skills across the DOE Enterprise through NNSA programs such as the Sandia Center of Excellence for Cyber Threat Intelligence

There is a workforce gap in the cyber industry that employers in the U.S. are serious about filling. Solving the cyber workforce issue is simple: foster talent and create cyber experts.

If the field of cybersecurity interests you, NNSA encourages you to explore the paths to becoming a cyber defender. Cybersecurity has a vast array of career choices that range from technical roles in cyber forensics to non-technical roles like policy analysts.  

Please check out the positions at the national laboratories' links below if a career in cybersecurity interests you.