President Looks to Strengthen U.S. Cyber Capabilities through New Executive Order

President Trump recently released an Executive Order (EO) to build on current initiatives geared towards “grow[ing] and strengthen[ing]” US cyber workforce capabilities. The EO, titled Strengthening America’s Cybersecurity Workforce to Secure Our Nation and Promote Prosperity has three main priorities:

• Strengthening our cyber workforce
• Growing the workforce
• Protecting our security

The overall goal of the EO is to standardize inter-agency cybersecurity rhetoric, build and strengthen a cyber-capable workforce, and create stronger buy-in from academia and federal agencies around addressing the cyber-capable workforce deficit.

“More than 300,000 cybersecurity job vacancies exist in the United States today,” President Trump said in a statement. “They must be filled to protect our critical infrastructure, national defense, and the American way of life.”

In an effort to incentivize cybersecurity development, the EO calls for the creation of a “President’s Cup” cybersecurity challenge that rewards top cyber personnel in the federal government. The EO also calls for additional recognition programs for personnel who have helped advance cybersecurity and cyber operations.

Adoption of the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education, or NICE framework, is widely encouraged. The NICE framework is a tool to assist in the recruitment, development and retention of cyber-capable talent in the federal government.

To view the EO in full, click here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/president-donald-j-trump-strengthening-americas-cybersecurity-workforce-secure-nation-promote-prosperity/