WASHINGTON — The United States will remain vulnerable to cyberattacks unless the nation’s education system is better aligned to produce greater numbers of cybersecurity professionals, a leading industry expert testified Tuesday at a Congressional hearing.
“The education system is not aligned to produce a workforce that can defend us from today’s cybersecurity threats,” Jarvis said.
Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., noted that a recent study by Intel Security and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), found that more than 209,000 cybersecurity jobs in the U.S. are unfilled, and job postings in the field are up 74 percent over the past five years.
And the demand for cybersecurity professionals is expected to grow to over 1.8 million by 2022, Guthrie said.
Jarvis said while estimates vary on the size of the skills gap in cybersecurity and how long it may take to close, that the “bigger point is unless we better realign our education system with the core attributes needed in cybersecurity, the nation will continue to be at risk.”
Jarvis made his remarks on Capitol Hill Tuesday during a joint hearing of the House subcommittee on cybersecurity and infrastructure protection, and the subcommittee on higher education and workforce development. The hearing was meant to explore public-private solutions to producing a cyber workforce.
