Despite a general cyber workforce shortage, National Cyber Director Chris Inglis today said his office has a “robust pipeline of talent” and expects to have 25 employees staffed in his office by the end of December, once Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 appropriations are released.
Inglis told the House Homeland Security Committee on November 3 that he still expects his office to be fully staffed by the end of FY2022, which he previously said he expects to reach up to 75 employees.
“The Office of the National Cyber Director is of course currently constrained by the lack of an appropriated budget, and we continue to work with Congress to secure the resources we need to bring on key staff,” Inglis told the committee in his opening statement at today’s hearing.
“That limitation notwithstanding, I am pleased to inform the committee that we have built a robust pipeline of talent and, once appropriations are available, I expect to reach a total of 25 personnel on board by the end of December and a full complement sometime later in fiscal year 2022,” he added.
In addition to Inglis and Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD) Chief of Staff John Costello, Inglis recently appointed Federal Chief Information Security Officer Chris DeRusha as the nation’s Deputy National Cyber Director, and he will hold dual titles.
Inglis and the ONCD also released the first ONCD Strategic Intent Statement October 28, which outlines Inglis’ vision, challenges, the path forward, and the urgency that the director sees for his office.
“We will create unity of effort and unity of purpose in our shared mission to ensure the security of federal networks. Both of these announcements lay the groundwork for the office’s approach but are certainly not the sum total of our intended endeavors,” Inglis said.
“We continue to build out the National Cyber Director team and equally important relationships with key partners inside and outside of the Federal government,” he said. “And we’ll follow up in the very near future with a more concrete comprehensive description of our priorities and the strategic objectives that will guide our work for years to come.”
