6 U.S.C. § 146 — Cybersecurity workforce assessment and strategy

submitted 12 years ago by Pub. L. 113-246 to r/title-6-DOMESTIC-SECURITY · 364 words · no verdicts yet

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This law requires the Department of Homeland Security to assess its cybersecurity workforce each year for three years and build a long-term strategy to improve it. The assessment looks at staffing, vacancies, and training gaps. The strategy covers recruitment, a 5-year plan, and a 10-year staffing outlook. The Secretary must update Congress yearly.

(a) Workforce assessment. Within 180 days of December 18, 2014, and then every year for three more years, the Secretary must assess the Department's cybersecurity workforce. This assessment must cover, at minimum: (A) how ready and able the workforce is to do its cybersecurity job; (B) where cybersecurity positions are located within the Department; (C) whether each cybersecurity position is filled by a full-time Department employee (including demographic details where practical), an independent contractor, or someone from another federal agency such as the National Security Agency, or is instead vacant; and (D) what percentage of people in each cybersecurity job category got the essential training they needed, and if they did not get it, what challenges caused that. (b) Workforce strategy. The Secretary must, within one year of December 18, 2014, build a full workforce strategy to improve the readiness, staffing levels, training, recruiting, and retention of the Department's cybersecurity workforce, and must keep that strategy updated as needed. This strategy must describe: (A) a recruitment plan with multiple approaches, covering experienced professionals, people from disadvantaged or underserved communities, unemployed people, and veterans; (B) a 5-year plan for putting the strategy into action; (C) a 10-year projection of the Department's cybersecurity staffing needs; (D) any obstacle that gets in the way of hiring and developing this workforce; and (E) any gap in the current cybersecurity workforce, along with a plan to fill it. (c) Updates. The Secretary must send the relevant congressional committees yearly updates on the workforce assessment required under subsection (a), and on the Department's progress carrying out the workforce strategy required under subsection (b).

the actual law source: uscode.house.gov ↗public domain

(a) Workforce assessment

(1) In general

Not later than 180 days after December 18, 2014, and annually thereafter for 3 years, the Secretary shall assess the cybersecurity workforce of the Department.

(2) Contents

The assessment required under paragraph (1) shall include, at a minimum—

(A)

an assessment of the readiness and capacity of the workforce of the Department to meet its cybersecurity mission;

(B)

information on where cybersecurity workforce positions are located within the Department;

(C)

information on which cybersecurity workforce positions are—

(i)

performed by—

(I)

permanent full-time equivalent employees of the Department, including, to the greatest extent practicable, demographic information about such employees;

(II)

independent contractors; and

(III)

individuals employed by other Federal agencies, including the National Security Agency; or

(ii)

vacant; and

(D)

information on—

(i)

the percentage of individuals within each Cybersecurity Category and Specialty Area who received essential training to perform their jobs; and

(ii)

in cases in which such essential training was not received, what challenges, if any, were encountered with respect to the provision of such essential training.

(b) Workforce strategy

(1) In general

The Secretary shall—

(A)

not later than 1 year after December 18, 2014, develop a comprehensive workforce strategy to enhance the readiness, capacity, training, recruitment, and retention of the cybersecurity workforce of the Department; and

(B)

maintain and, as necessary, update the comprehensive workforce strategy developed under subparagraph (A).

(2) Contents

The comprehensive workforce strategy developed under paragraph (1) shall include a description of—

(A)

a multi-phased recruitment plan, including with respect to experienced professionals, members of disadvantaged or underserved communities, the unemployed, and veterans;

(B)

a 5-year implementation plan;

(C)

a 10-year projection of the cybersecurity workforce needs of the Department;

(D)

any obstacle impeding the hiring and development of a cybersecurity workforce in the Department; and

(E)

any gap in the existing cybersecurity workforce of the Department and a plan to fill any such gap.

The Secretary submit 1 to the appropriate congressional committees annual updates on—

(1)

the cybersecurity workforce assessment required under subsection (a); and

(2)

the progress of the Secretary in carrying out the comprehensive workforce strategy required to be developed under subsection (b).

Source credit: (Pub. L. 113–246, § 3, Dec. 18, 2014, 128 Stat. 2880.)

history & why it existsrecord from the source credit

2014Enacted · Pub. L. 113-246 · 128 Stat. 2880

A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 113-246 on 2014-12-18.

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