As much as agencies have been hurting for more cybersecurity professionals, many are not meeting candidates in the places where they job hunt. Most information technology professionals holding the skills the government needs don't check USAjobs.gov, said Kevin Cooley, command information officer for Navy Fleet Cyber Command/10^th Fleet. Job hunters also won't be stopping by Navy recruiting offices, he added, while speaking at an Oct. 21 cybersecurity event at the National Press Club in Washington D.C.

The Navy is ramping up efforts to leave news of job openings in places where the right candidates will see them, he added. "We've spent a lot of time in places like Facebook, and looking at the digital presence that the Navy has and how to use it," said Cooley.

"The experience that a young, tech-savvy person might have going on USAjobs is probably not awesome," said Philip Reitinger, deputy undersecretary at the Homeland Security Department.

But even when the right people find the right job, the "current federal [job] process is a disincentive to recruitment" for most IT workers, said James Lewis, director and senior fellow at the Center for Strategic & International Studies.

It's going to be years before the federal government will get to where it needs to be in reforming the hiring process, said Reitinger. But because the need for cybersecurity workers is so great, DHS has obtained additional hiring flexibilities from the Office of Personnel Management.

"They were quite good to give us additional, what are called Schedule A authorities, so we could more aggressively hire people at higher rates," said Reitinger.

The panel also cited the slow process of obtaining a security clearance, as a problem associated with many cybersecurity jobs.

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