Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1475010
AUGUST 2022 I SMT007 MAGAZINE 71 do or plan to do work for the DoD, then com- pliance is a top-line concern, and without a sufficient top-line, the bottom-line will unfor- tunately take care of itself. Here's one more prediction: Other depart- ments and agencies of the federal govern- ment will quickly adopt similar cybersecurity requirements. If you read this thinking you might get a pass because you aren't in the DoD supply chain, I wouldn't count on it. SMT007 Divyash Patel is president of MX2 Technology. e best thing you can do now is find an expert you trust to put together a gap analy- sis and develop your policies, procedures, and system security plans. is will give you a rea- sonable idea of what compliance will take in terms of time and materials. All in, compliance should cost a fraction of a full-time IT resource. Compared to the cost of missing out on con- tract opportunities, it's a drop in the bucket. Fortunately, this will be a one-time cost. Once you have the IT environment secured, and policies and procedures developed, stay- ing compliant will simply be a matter of main- taining the network and following protocols. I'm sure most of you would much rather focus on sales, sourcing, production, and ship- ping—your bottom-line concerns. But if you At a National Cyber Workforce and Education Summit at the White House, Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh and Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announced the 120-Day Cybersecurity Apprenticeship Sprint, an effort to support numer- ous industries' use of Registered Apprentice- ships to develop and train a skilled and diverse cybersecurity workforce. The 120-Day Cybersecurity Apprenticeship Sprint supports a commitment to expand Regis- tered Apprenticeships to meet industry's need for talent and to connect underserved communities to good jobs. Improving the nation's cybersecurity apparatus is critical to the nation's economic and national security. The partnership between the departments of Labor, Commerce, other federal agencies and the White House Office of the National Cyber Director seeks to recruit employers, industry associations, labor unions, educational providers, community- based organizations and others to establish Reg- istered Apprenticeship programs or to join exist- ing programs to ensure the nation's economic sec- tors have greater numbers of qualified cybersecu- rity workers. The sprint will continue until National Apprenticeship Week, Nov. 14-20, 2022. There are currently 714 registered apprentice- ship programs and 42,260 apprentices in cyber- security-related occupations. Since Jan. 20, 2021, 199 new programs have been created—a 28% increase during the Biden-Harris administration. The 120-Day Cybersecurity Apprenticeship Sprint will build upon this progress and focus on creat- ing new pathways for workers in cybersecurity or a related field through partnerships with K-12, higher education, workforce partners and train- ing programs. Introducing more employers to the potential of cybersecurity Registered Apprentice- ships is essential to fill the nearly 700,000 open cybersecurity jobs, which span all industries. (Source: U.S. Department of Commerce) U.S. Departments of Labor, Commerce Announce 120-Day Cybersecurity Apprentice Sprint to Promote Registered Apprenticeships