U.S. Gov't Sponsors InfoSec Defense Training

Anomolous Cow Herd writes: "CNN is reporting that the U.S. government is awarding scholarships to a select few computer science students to study information security, with the caveat that they must agree to work for a government agency for at least two years afterwards. This is in response to the general state of paranoia that has ensued since 9/11, with 'cybersecurity' as a high priority. Considering that a vast majority of government agencies run on Windows NT and derivatives, it's no wonder that they consider the eventual graduating class of 180 'doesn't have a chance.'"

Comments

Could be worse.

[Anonymous Coward]

I'd rather see people get scholarships for IT security than for the ability to run fast with an oblong ball.

FYI: Free COMPSEC training materials on CD

[Anonymous Coward]

You can request free computer security training information (mostly on CD) from DISA.

http://iase.disa.mil/eta/index.html

Re:The fact is

[TheAJofOZ]

that usually, many of the most brilliant people aren't that interested in school.

On what basis do you make that statement? The most brilliant people almost always look for intellectual challenges and you are much more likely to find those challenges in an academic setting (because that's the point of them). Certainly some very intelligent people burn out and drop out of school but they generally do not live up to their potential intellectually, despite the fact that they may well have a much more satisfying life.

In reality, most of the really brilliant people in this world are professors in universities (note that the reverse is not nessecarily true however).

Motivation

[_Sprocket_]

Oddly enough the submission reads:

This is in response to the general state of paranoia that has ensued since 9/11, with 'cybersecurity' as a high priority.

While the VERY FIRST PARAGRAPH of the article reads:

Long before September 11 and last year's virus-like attacks over the Internet, the United States government announced plans to train an elite corps of computer security experts to guard against cyberterrorism.

Ya know what? Other than putting some additional paranoia in the public (and management) mind, infosec has little to do with terrorism. Sure, the politicians like the run around screaming "digital pearl harbor". But the general state of most organizations' infosec stance has been in shambles well before 9/11. And those vulnerabilities mean that these organizations are much more likely to be attacked by a random attack-of-opportunity than a coordinated terrorist activity.

And that includes the US Government. It might go especially for the US Government where "security" is usually dealt with a Cold War mentality. One that has little to do with the current state of information security. Instead, government agencies tend to rely heavily on prosecution (which kicks in well after the damage has been done). Change to this mindset is hampered by limited budgets which make hiring experts (or retaining anyone with the appropriate skillset) difficult. A couple years ago, the FBI even complained to congress that they could not attract experts in the field due to their uncompetative pay.

So to wrap it all up. Government computer systems tend to make suprisingly easy targets. This program is part of the awakening and catch-up the government is undergoing on this issue. It has very little to do with terrorism and 9/11. And even the very article referred to states that.

Re:Working for the government?

[goldspider]

I really hate to feed a troll, but I suspect alot of people here might actualy believe the subject line of the parent.

I work for the government, and in these times when the economy is still on shaky ground, the job security alone enough was enough to get me to take the position.

The fact is that IT positions in the government actually pay quite well. Considering the area I live in, my starting salary was quite competetive with what the private sector was willing to pay. Not to mention the famous government benefits packages.

The U.S. government does indeed have alot of NT servers. The Powers That Be (TM) understand the vulnerability, and apparently are willing to pay handsomely to fix it. In a time of a job market that's uncertain at best, I can think of worse situations than a free education and a 2-yr. job guarantee.