New cyber workforce strategy released by Defense Department

The U.S. Department of Defense has introduced a new cyber workforce strategy aimed at easing entry, exit, and reentry into its cyber workforce as it seeks to strengthen talent acquisition and retention amid the ongoing cyber talent shortage around the world, according to DefenseScoop. Instead of rewarding loyalty, the Defense Department is looking to establish a system that would enable members of its cyber workforce to leave for the private sector and potentially return with newly acquired skills, said Patrick Johnson, director of the workforce innovation directorate for the DoD Chief Information Officer. Keeping relationships with previous cyber employees is also being focused on by the department, which may work with them in the future, noted Mark Gorak, principal director for resources and analysis for the DoD Chief Information Officer. Johnson also noted the strategy's goal to leverage data to address gaps in the workforce. "We're making data-driven decisions in how we manage this workforce. And then when we go back and we say to the services and we say to our components, 'We need to increase here, we need to increase there,' it's not us going down and forcing an issue," Johnson added.