DHS Called On Hackers to Join Government During Black Hat Speech

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas at a conference of Black Hat motivated participants to come forward and share their creativity, ideas, and boldness with the government agencies on defining the future of cybersecurity policy that has not been mapped yet. 

“We need your creativity, your ideas, your boldness, and your willingness to push limits. We need you to help us navigate a path that has not yet been mapped,” Mayorkas said. “What’s at stake here is nothing less than the future of the internet, the future of our economic and national security, and the future of our country.” 

Mayorkas introduced the upcoming program named the Cyber Talent Management System which will redefine hiring requirements for cybersecurity roles in the government agencies and payment will also be adjusted according to the current workforce environment. He motivated the participants to “lead the charge on the inside,” by joining the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and DHS. 

“This initiative…will give us more flexibility to hire the very best cyber talent and ensure we can compete more effectively with the private sector,” he said. 

According to the present statistics, under the Biden administration hiring is a major focus of DHS. Currently, the firm is trying to fill a number of open cybersecurity jobs within the agency and to recruit more diverse talent in cybersecurity. 

Furthermore, Mayorkas said that they are observing the current scenario if young talents are not interested in working with the federal government. However, security specialists have an opportunity to “bridge the gap between the hacker community and the federal government” by collaborating with the agency, he added. He concluded his speech by comparing the current state of cybersecurity with the mid-18th-century struggle between Britain, China, and Russia. 

“We are competing for the future of cyberspace – one in which friends gather, colleagues communicate, businesses sell, consumers buy, dissidents organize, horrific crimes occur, governments hear from their citizens, and information is widely and quickly disseminated,” he said.