A recent push by the federal government to fill its cybersecurity ranks, along with legal fighting among some of the world’s biggest corporations each illustrate the competitive landscape for cybersecurity talent.
The freshly filed lawsuit by MasterCard International against sneaker giant Nike proves that businesses are paying attention to the need for tough information security. According to the complaint, filed in the Southern District Court of New York, MasterCard’s former chief information security officer William Dennings and manager Ryan Fusselman violated their non-compete agreements by luring much of MasterCard’s information security team away to join Nike.
“Information security is a fast growing area, including in retail industries where security breaches at Target and Home Depot have made headline news,” MasterCard said in its complaint. “As a technology company and payments industry leader, MasterCard has an established and accomplished information security department with top quality managers, programmers, engineers, and analysts.”
MasterCard’s security team dwindled after Dennings and Fusselman left, with seven security staffers leaving MasterCard to work in Nike’s Portland, Oregon, office. The credit card corporation alleged that the seven former employees were “coached” by the departing managers not to hint to MasterCard of their intentions to join Nike. The cost of a team of defectors in MasterCard’s view is $5 million in damages for breach of contract.
Building Teams
At the same time, the FBI has launched a full-court press to bring in new faces to fight cyber crime. The federal agency asserts on its jobs site, “No organization in the world will apply your cyber expertise like the FBI. Today’s FBI is dedicated to preventing and investigating the most sophisticated computer threats around the globe. Your skills may thwart operations that incite violent attacks, advance crime, target national security, aid terrorism, and beyond. Discover why, more than ever, an FBI cyber career is for you.”
The feds are looking for computer scientists, forensic examiners, even interns. However, even the government might find itself challenged to attract the brightest of cyber minds.
“Salaries are definitely higher in private industry,” said John Pescatore, director of emerging trends for the SANS Institute. “The government definitely has that issue.”
Pescatore told Advisen that the federal government has failed to define a solid career path for cybersecurity professionals looking to advance their skills. The government is working to resolve that problem, he added, by launching programs under the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
“Too much of the government’s cybersecurity approach has been, ‘The Department of Defense will do it,’” said Pescatore. However, government has the benefit of being “more predictable and steady,” he added. SANS is working to promote the inclusion of returning veterans and military intelligence professionals into the cybersecurity field, as well, both public and private.
Pescatore said he didn’t think the FBI’s prospects would be harmed by any distrust of government surveillance.
“Fighting cyber criminals is pretty straightforward,” he said. “Pretty much everyone agrees identity theft is bad, child pornography is bad. It’s pretty black and white.”
Erin is the managing editor of Advisen’s Front Page News. She has been covering property-casualty insurance since 2000. Previously, Erin served as editor-in-chief of The Standard, New England’s Insurance Weekly. Erin is based in Boston, Mass. Contact Erin at [email protected].
