AFCEA West: Boosting Defense Cyber Talent Helps All of Government

During AFCEA West in San Diego, California, Mark Gorak, Defense Department's principal director for resources and analysis and director of the Cyber Academic Engagement Office, discussed his priorities for cyber talent and retention amid new federal leadership. Gorak lauded his office's efforts to lower the average days it takes to hire cyber talent and discussed his efforts to retain cyber talent. The Cyber Workforce Strategy, which has been deployed since 2023, has been implemented hand in hand with ongoing and emerging innovations within and outside of the department. Gorak has overseen hiring thousands of employees. He noted that departures from the agency allow other agencies and industry to hire talented individuals from the DOD, creating an ecosystem of like-minded experts throughout government.