High cyber staff turnover rate is good for government, DARPA chief says

The Pentagon can vie with industry for cybersecurity researchers by letting the scientists return to the private sector after a few years in government, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency chief said in a novel suggestion for retaining talent from a narrow pool.

Contractors and agencies are seemingly desperate for reformed hackers, academics and other computer security whizzes to defend government networks from constantly morphing threats. Typically, the private sector lures computer scientists by paying a premium and letting them tinker with new gadgets and gizmos. The National Security Agency, the military's cyberespionage force, wants more liberty to offer salary increases and promotions for retention. DARPA, meanwhile, says its own workforce is rebooted every three to five years to keep up with technological advances. "The shelf life of cyber capabilities is short. We might even posit that the shelf life of cyber skills is relativity short," DARPA acting Director Kaigham J. Gabriel told lawmakers. The Defense Department may want to preserve a core of professionals, "but in fact perhaps we should just plan on building a model where there will be a significant refresh of folks."