How the White House cyber czar is working to breathe new life into America’s cybersecurity workforce

SOMEWHERE IN NEVADA — On a scorching August afternoon some 10 miles away from the DEF CON hacker conference situated in the heart of the Las Vegas strip, White House National Cyber Director Harry Coker and a small group of his staff were escorted into a Faraday cage.

The apparatus, frequently used by intelligence and national security analysts in classified settings to block electromagnetic signals and prevent sensitive data from leaking in or out of the room, appeared almost lived-in. The space was furnished with a chess board, office chairs, couches, and desks stacked with hardware and laptops.

Donning a gray suit, a dozen or so sets of eyes were on Coker as he walked up to a computer monitor in the center of the cage, where it displayed a live cyberattack map hosted on a non-governmental website, detailing statistics from recent cross-border digital attacks against targets in the U.S., Russia and other nation-states.

Seconds after examining the map, Coker turned around, only to be met with a camera flash from a photographer inside the cage. Outside the signal-proof enclosure, scores of people peered in, excited and enthralled by their guest from the executive branch who traveled some 2,500 miles for the visit.

The national cyber director wasn’t being briefed on any sort of high profile intelligence matter. He was actually getting a tour of a school.

“Anthony, you want to tell him about your research?” a voice called from outside the room. Standing in the cage with Coker, Anthony, a student, chatted with the national cyber director about a forthcoming Security Operations Center, or SOC offering through the College of Southern Nevada’s cybersecurity club that would allow peers to get hands-on experience with Kali Purple. Kali Purple is an extension of the popular open-source Kali Linux cybersecurity operating system, built specifically for cybersecurity defense.

The envisioned experience working with the Kali Purple build would also be enhanced with a terabyte-sized hard drive of malware samples from Vx-Underground, a website that educates users about different types of malicious code that hackers can inject into victims’ networks.

“We have the malware on hand, and it’s in an environment where we can use it a little safer,” he said.

Coker’s visit to the school, abbreviated as CSN, was one of several he and staff in the Office of the National Cyber Director have taken since he stepped into the role at the start of 2024. Among several initiatives listed in the office’s sweeping national cybersecurity strategy, the U.S. needs to shore up its cyber workforce to better prepare against what’s expected to be an accelerated rate of cyberattacks from hackers determined to cripple vital American infrastructure like banks, hospitals and government institutions.

But to learn about how to best position the U.S. to fill some 500,000 open cybersecurity jobs,  the White House needs examples to go by.

SOCs serve as the backbone of an organization’s cybersecurity efforts, enabling around-the-clock monitoring of cyber threats. Inside the esoteric walls of U.S. intelligence agencies, analysts work in SOCs, rotating in shifts throughout the day as they scour networks for signs of unauthorized access, potential breaches and emerging threats, ensuring that any malicious activity is promptly detected and addressed.

At CSN, a federally-designated Hispanic-serving institution, Coker was impressed with what he saw and heard. “What we really like about SOCs on campus is that it gives students real-world, relevant experience,” he told the tour group consisting of students, faculty and staff. 

CSN is a community college that’s become a paragon model of the Biden administration’s mission to get more diversified and skilled staff into cybersecurity jobs — both in the government and private sector. It lets students start their cybersecurity careers early, and encourages them to engage in programs that provide IT and cyber services to businesses in the Nevada area.

In appearances at schools both across the country and near the Washington beltway, Coker has made clear that people who want to enter the cybersecurity workforce don’t need a standard four-year college degree to do so, opting instead to appeal toward two-year degrees that can be augmented with a suite of hard skills that young people can bring to the table upon graduating.

His office is taking a dual approach to the efforts. As ONCD visits each stop, their strategy hasn’t solely focused on gathering best practices from local leaders but also on actively disseminating the federal resources available to support their workforce efforts. The office argues the dynamic is critical to maintaining a steady-state relationship that promotes institutional development of cyber jobs. 

This “exemplar” blueprint seen at the Nevada college, as Coker described it, aligns with work that’s already begun back in Washington, with the White House converting work requirements in the government’s 2210 job series — composed of nearly 100,000 federal IT and cyber workers — to skills-based hiring. Congress has also followed suit with a slew of proposals to boost workforce outreach and training.

Coker sees a bit of his own experience in students he spoke with during the tour. Those included student visitors from three local high schools, where they’re able to enroll in CSN classes for course credit.

“Coming from similar social and economic backgrounds as some of these students, they’re in better shape than me. They are more focused than I was when I was growing up,” Coker, a CIA and NSA alum, told Nextgov/FCW during the visit.

“They went to get involved early,” he said. 

Students all have their own stories about what’s pushed them into a cybersecurity career, but they all share the same desire to protect fellow citizens or fight back against enemy hackers.

Janette, a recent CSN graduate who agreed to use only her first name for this story, wants to stop pervasive fraud schemes that have cost victims billions of dollars in losses.

“I was a victim of some really bad identity theft in 2015,” she told Nextgov/FCW during Coker’s tour. Her whole identity, including her social security number, was stolen and dropped into the dark web, a shrouded part of the internet that isn’t indexed by standard search engines, where illegal cybercrime activities can run rampant.

“I didn’t know how to combat it,” she said. “I want to educate other people on how to protect themselves, to prevent identity theft, to prevent scams.”

Her resume rivals that of cybersecurity workers seen in major cities, including the nation’s capital, where there’s arguably no shortage of cybersecurity talent. In college, Janette was involved in student orgs focused on cybersecurity. It culminated in an internship with the NFL’s network engineers that was backed by Cisco Networking Academy, where she was the sole student on the Super Bowl field a week before the big game, performing cable tests and other tasks to safeguard against any unauthorized access.

She also has CompTIA A+ and CompTIA Network+ certifications, and is actively pursuing a third, she said in a follow-up email. “Cybersecurity also means job security and I know there are so many options out there,” she wrote.

In the eyes of ONCD, the College of Southern Nevada is a success story for the future of America’s cyber workforce. But it’s just one institution. How could lawmakers, federal workforce experts and other stakeholders be convinced by just one White House office that serious changes are needed to ready the next generation to use and defend against digital armaments?

The work is far from over, Coker says. 

“Scale nationwide,” he declared when asked about next steps. He’s constantly transmitting feedback over to Congress and the executive offices linked to President Biden. “We are confident they are part of the process.”

Since the start of the decade, but especially in 2024, officials have repeatedly said the global threat landscape is more dangerous than ever. Public testimony has highlighted Chinese hackers infiltrating U.S. critical infrastructure, alongside a surge in military asset allocations in essential congressional funding bills. This year, the record turnout in global elections has further intensified these threats, with growing concerns about AI-driven disinformation becoming a reality ahead of November.

To many, the U.S. cybersecurity workforce is the next best line of defense. Top brass military experts, including recently retired Gen. Paul Nakasone, who led NSA and Cyber Command, are pushing for similar research efforts at the university level, amid concerns that contemporary national security threats have become borderless and will challenge nations for the foreseeable future.

In the air conditioned corridors of the campus building with the Faraday cage just one floor above, Coker had one last task that’s on the agenda at many of these school roadshows: he had to make a speech.

For the lucky ones who regularly connect with Coker and his team in Washington, it’s just par for the course. But the true reality unveiled by the White House’s cyber czar is that the world is a much bigger place outside the halls of Congress and other buildings that make up the federal government. 

As he marched up to the lectern in front of an audience of CSN staff, local members of the press and volunteer student cyber workers, he was practically revered. Harry Coker is trying to save America’s cyber workforce, and he chose their school to help lay the foundation for a new type of technological revolution.

“To students, faculty, and other partners, it’s a pleasure to spend time with you today. I’ve enjoyed meeting so many of you here at the College of Southern Nevada,” he said to applause.

“I’ve particularly enjoyed meeting with the students this morning — from the high school, community college and university levels — I am more encouraged about our future after meeting each of you,” he said.

Another school visit down, many more to go.

Editor's note: This article has been updated to include further detail about ONCD efforts.