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The Federal Bureau of Investigation is struggling to hire computer scientists, according to a Department of Justice audit of the feeb's attempts to implement its Next Generation Cyber Initiative.
A 34-page audit report (PDF) from the DoJ notes that, while making considerable progress, the FBI has "encountered challenges in attracting external participants to its established Cyber Task Forces".
[The audit] bemoaned how hiring and retaining qualified white hats remained a challenge for the FBI, especially when competing private-sector entities pay more and have less invasive recruitment processes. The FBI reportedly did not hire 52 of the 134 computer scientists for which it was authorised, meaning 38 per cent of the workforce it requires (as per budget) is simply not there. This additionally means that five of the FBI's 56 field offices do not have even a single computer scientist assigned to their Cyber Task Force.
Back in 2011, the Office of the Inspector General gave the FBI a thorough scolding over its inability to address America's cyber-intrusion threat, for which it has become the responsible national body. The Next Generation Cyber Initiative was launched in response, essentially as a platform for funding increases in the face of a swelling number of data breaches and cyber-attacks in recent years.
This is not the first mention of the FBI's difficulties in recruiting infosec professionals. Last year, the [FBI]'s director James Comey said the company was re-examining its drugs policy as too many applicants seemed to be enjoying a doobie en route to interview.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 03 2015, @07:32PM
("Invasive recruitment processes" count as working conditions here. The more hassle people have to go through, the more you need to pay them to compensate them for the hassle.)
For a couple of days the FBI director was honest about the problem, [wsj.com] until he succumbed to political correctness. [sophos.com]
But I think the problem is more than just appropriate compensation. Sorry free-marketers not everything is for sale. The FBI's culture is fundamentally incompatible with the profession. There are only so many people with the kind of institutionalized authoritarian mindset that defines the FBI who are also talented computer security people. Offering more money won't create new ones in the same way that adding more water to fire won't make more fire. The problem isn't a lack of quality talent, the problem is lack of quality employment.