The Department of Defense (DoD) plans to release updates to the DoD Cyber Workforce Framework (DCWF) work role codes – including revised educational requirements – with the release date still to be determined, as part of ongoing efforts to refine and standardize cybersecurity roles across the department.
DoD work role codes are updated and managed through the DCWF, which defines a standardized set of cyber work roles used to code positions across the department under the DoD 8140 framework.
Matthew Isnor, program lead for the Cyber Workforce Development Office, said on Jan. 28 at the AFCEA West Conference in San Diego that the DoD is in the process of updating foundational requirements as it continues to implement the DoD 8140 framework, “which provides a comprehensive approach to managing cyber workforce talent.”
According to the policy “education, training, certification, or experience requirements … can be accepted to satisfy the foundational requirements of this issuance if they meet the standards.”
“So, what we’re trying to do is validate the background of an academic program, a discipline to make sure that that person has the capability of doing that, trying to look at various undergraduate, graduate, PhD level-type courses to see if they have the knowledge and skills,” Isnor said.
Isnor could not offer an expected release date for the updated codes but explained that his team continues to evaluate programs that meet those foundational requirements.
“We’re going through and trying to do our due diligence to make sure that we’re putting out the best information and not just throwing a blanket that ‘Hey, all PhDs are capable of doing advanced stuff.’ We want to make sure that we tie it and give it back to the knowledge of skills,” he said.
