"The Government Accountability Office (GAO) said that data it reviewed from 23 key US government agencies (out of 24, as the Pentagon was excluded from this report) indicated there were at least 63,934 full-time federal cybersecurity employees, costing the government around $9.3 billion per year. An additional 4,151 contractors were reported to the GAO, and those cost taxpayers an additional $5.2 billion."
""Most agencies did not have quality information on their component-level and contractor cyber workforce," GAO said. "As a result, they could not accurately identify the size and cost of their cyber workforce." Twenty-two of the 23 agencies examined for the report told the GAO they had only "partial or no data on their contractor cyber workforce," and 19 agencies lacked any quality assurance process to ensure the data they reported was actually accurate."
Data reviewed from 23 key U.S. government agencies indicated at least 63,934 full-time federal cybersecurity employees costing about $9.3 billion annually, plus 4,151 contractors costing about $5.2 billion. Most agencies lacked quality information on component-level and contractor cyber workforces, preventing accurate identification of workforce size and cost. Twenty-two agencies reported partial or no contractor workforce data, 19 lacked quality-assurance processes for reported data, and 17 lacked standardized practices to determine who qualifies as a cybersecurity employee. The Office of the National Cyber Director has not issued proper guidance, contributing to fragmented coordination. These gaps increase risks of understaffing, hiring unqualified personnel for sensitive roles, and preventable cybersecurity incidents.
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