Cybersecurity Resources

Below are a collection of three white papers sponsored by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and authored by Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) Software Engineering Institute (SEI) that explore critical challenges facing our nation’s cybersecurity workforce.

Executive Summary

• Cybersecurity Careers of the Future
  Provides a list of key cybersecurity skills needed to close the workforce gap, based off workforce survey analysis, threat reports, service offerings, open job postings, applicable regulations, and emerging technologies to identify the required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) and Work Roles.
• Cybersecurity Talent Identification and Assessment
  Explores how cybersecurity talent is identified, highlights current and future assessment capabilities, and provides recommendations on candidate recruitment and talent evaluation.
• Cybersecurity Career Paths and Progression
  Explores the current state of cybersecurity careers from the importance of early exposure, to methods of entry into the field, to career progression.

• Workforce Framework for Cybersecurity (NICE Framework)
  The NICE Framework establishes at taxonomy and common lexicon that describes cybersecurity work and workers regardless of where or for whom the work is performed.  It is a nationally-focused and applies across public, private, and academic sectors.
• Cybersecurity Workforce Development Toolkit
  The Cybersecurity Workforce Development Toolkit provides organizations with information, tools and templates to plan, build, and advance their cybersecurity workforce.
• DHS PushButtonPD™ Tool
  This Human Resources and Manager tool was developed to help quickly draft Federal employee cyber position description(s). It is a no cost Microsoft Excel workbook file which makes drafting of the position description easier without any prior knowledge of the cyber position.
• NICE Framework Mapping Tool
  The Mapping Tool allow Human Resources offices and Managers to input positions required knowledge skills, and abilities to build cybersecurity profiles that are mapped to the NICE Framework.  This tool ensures that your organization is on the same page as hundreds of other organizations when it comes to talking about cybersecurity work in the same way.
• Cybersecurity Capability Maturity Model
  Enables organizations to evaluate their cybersecurity workforce planning readiness.
• Cybersecurity Workforce Planning Diagnostic PDF
  Helps organizations make decisions about resource allocation and human capital investments based on their willingness to take on risk.
• Best Practices for Planning a Cybersecurity Workforce White Paper
  As the nation seeks to build a skilled cybersecurity workforce, this paper serves as a starting point to highlight best practices for cybersecurity workforce planning and ultimately identifying an approach to address significant cybersecurity workforce gaps nationwide.

• Students – Start Your Cybersecurity Career!
  A one-page flyer with information about cybersecurity careers for students (Grades 8-12).
• A Teacher’s Guide for Integrating Cybersecurity into the Classroom
  Use this guide to help you talk to your students about becoming the cybersecurity professionals of tomorrow.
• 5 Ways Cybersecurity is Like Gaming - but Better
  An engaging hand-out to interact with students who might be interested in cybersecurity careers. By linking gaming and cybersecurity, students will see a career that is enriching and rewarding (Grades 6-12).
• "How to Talk About Cybersecurity Careers”
  A tip card that assists educators in guiding discussions about cybersecurity in the classroom and at home. This tip card aligns to the posters below.
• Cybersecurity Careers Posters (2 poster series)
  Exciting posters illustrating cybersecurity careers in an easy to understand format (Grades K-8).
• Handout on Cybersecurity Education Resources
  Information on how to integrate cybersecurity into the classroom including access to free course materials (student workbooks, teacher and master notes, lessons plans, assessments, and other supporting materials) for Grades K-12.
• Cybersecurity Career Profiles - mapped to the NICE Framework
  Exciting profiles of cybersecurity jobs designed to inspire and bring the cybersecurity career field to life for students (Grades 6-12).

• The Federal Virtual Training Environment (FedVTE)
  FedVTE is a free online, on-demand cybersecurity training system providing cybersecurity training courses for government personnel and U.S. Veterans.
• NICCS Education and Training Catalog
  The NICCS Education and Training Catalog is the place to start for anyone interested in advancing their cybersecurity education including current cybersecurity employees looking to build skills, career changers seeking to forge a new path, or Veterans hoping to retrain for the next phase in life.

• Introduction to Assured Software Engineering Course - Instructor Notes
  Downloadable course designed for Community College Professors to use as an introduction to assured software engineering. The course highlights software assurance challenges, foundations, and guiding principles, along with covering security models and methods.
• Introduction to Assured Software Engineering Course – Slide Deck
  The Introduction to Assured Software Engineering Course slide deck to be use in the classroom, along with the teacher instructions.

• Workforce Management Guidebook - Cybersecurity is Everyone's Job
  A publication that talks about cybersecurity from every business function and aspect of an organization’s operation. It is written for a general audience who may not be knowledgeable about cybersecurity and can be read as a complete guide or by each business function as standalone guides.
• CyberSeek
  To help close the cybersecurity skills gap, CyberSeek provides detailed, actionable data around supply and demand in the cybersecurity job market.
• STOP. THINK. CONNECT.™
  Campaign is a national public awareness campaign aimed at increasing the understanding of cyber threats and empowering the American public to be safer and more secure online.