Morrison & Foerster partner John Carlin announced an initiative for The Aspen Cybersecurity Group of best practices to bridge the cybersecurity skills pipeline gap. A “diverse collection of fifteen major companies…agreed to adopt and implement principles” to improve hiring today. John serves as the Chair of the Aspen Cyber & Technology Program.
“It should deeply concern all Americans that businesses and government agencies are struggling to find enough cybersecurity workers,” John wrote. “Unfilled cybersecurity positions have grown by 50% since 2015, underscoring that organizations are struggling to find desirable candidates.” The focus of the initiative is to seek appeal to candidates from non-traditional backgrounds, which will involve “changing job qualifications to elevate the importance of real-world skills over degrees, rewriting job descriptions to appeal to more diverse job applicants, and drawing a transparent career path for cybersecurity workers,” John explained.
The Aspen Cybersecurity Group announced commitments to this initiative from 15 premier companies.
The announcement has been covered by the Washington Post, Politico, The CyberWire, and Cyberscoop.