Designating June 2024 as National Cybersecurity Education Month.

Designating June 2024 as National Cybersecurity Education Month.

Whereas recent cyberattacks and vulnerabilities present cybersecurity risks to individuals and organizations and increase the urgency to grow and sustain a knowledgeable and skilled cybersecurity workforce in both the public and private sectors;

Whereas, according to CyberSeek.org, as of April 2024, in the United States, there are 1,239,018 individuals in the cybersecurity workforce and 469,930 open jobs in cybersecurity;

Whereas a 2017 report entitled “Supporting the Growth and Sustainment of the Nation’s Cybersecurity Workforce: Building the Foundation for a More Secure American Future”, transmitted by the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Homeland Security, proposed a vision to “prepare, grow, and sustain a cybersecurity workforce that safeguards and promotes America's national security and economic prosperity”;

Whereas expanding cybersecurity education opportunities is important in order to address the cybersecurity workforce shortage and prepare the United States for ongoing and future national security threats;

Whereas cybersecurity education can—

(1) provide learning and career opportunities for students across the United States in elementary through postsecondary education; and

(2) bolster the capacity of the domestic workforce to defend the United States and secure the economy of the United States;

Whereas, in 2021, Congress authorized, as part of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Public Law 116–283; 134 Stat. 3388), the Cybersecurity Education Training Assistance Program (referred to in this preamble as ‘‘CETAP’’), a Department of Homeland Security initiative to provide cybersecurity career awareness, curricular resources, and professional development to elementary and secondary schools;

Whereas CYBER.ORG, a grantee of CETAP, has introduced cybersecurity concepts to more than 4,500,000 students and provided resources to more than 34,000 K–12 educators in all 50 States and 4 territories of the United States;

Whereas the mission of NICE, a partnership between government, academia, and the private sector led by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, is “to energize, promote, and coordinate a robust community working together to advance an integrated ecosystem of cybersecurity education, training, and workforce development”;

Whereas cybersecurity education is supported through multiple Federal programs and other related efforts, including—

(1) the Office of the National Cyber Director;

(2) the NICE Community Coordinating Council;

(3) the Advanced Technological Education program administered by the National Science Foundation;

(4) the CyberCorps: Scholarship for Service program administered by the National Science Foundation, in collaboration with the Office of Personnel Management and the Department of Homeland Security;

(5) the Department of Defense Cybersecurity Scholarship Program administered by the Department of Defense;

(6) the Cybersecurity Talent Initiative administered by the Partnership for Public Service;

(7) the National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity administered by the National Security Agency;

(8) the Presidential Cybersecurity Education Award;

(9) Career Technical Education (CTE) CyberNet Academies administered by the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education of the Department of Education;

(10) the GenCyber program administered by the National Security Agency, in collaboration with the National Science Foundation;

(11) widely used resources, including CareerOneStop, Occupational Outlook Handbook, and O*NET OnLine administered by the Department of Labor; and

(12) the Registered Apprenticeship Program administered by the Office of Apprenticeship of the Department of Labor; and

Whereas ensuring access to cybersecurity education for all students in the United States regardless of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, sex, or geographic location will expand opportunities for high-earning jobs in high-demand fields: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved,