S. 5504: To require the Secretary of Defense to establish a pilot program on Department of Defense partnerships with institutions of higher education recognized in the National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity program for Cyber Research, and for other purposes.

This bill would require the Secretary of Defense to create a pilot program within one year to test partnerships between certain Defense Department cyber units and colleges and universities that have been recognized by the National Security Agency as centers of excellence in cybersecurity for:

• Cyber research
• Cyber defense
• Cyber operations

What the pilot program is meant to do

The goal is to see whether working more closely with these schools can help the Defense Department:

• Build a stronger cybersecurity workforce
• Improve cyber training for military personnel through academic collaboration, research, and simulated cyber exercises
• Create clearer paths for students to get jobs in federal cybersecurity roles
• Make better use of existing scholarship and fellowship programs that support cyber students who agree to work in government afterward
• Provide more guidance and counseling to students interested in cybersecurity careers in the Defense Department or other federal agencies

What the pilot would include

The bill says the pilot must include several specific activities:

• A research team that supports military cyber operations by using open-source intelligence, analyzing new threats, and developing playbooks for how an adversary might act
• A way to measure whether the program is working, including whether it is worth the cost to involve students in operational units
• Evaluation of how long it takes to clear students for participation and how much time and money it takes to get them access to needed networks
• Review of the students’ coursework to see whether it prepares them well enough to support real military cyber operations
• Tracking of participating students to see whether the program increases the chance they later work for the Defense Department or the federal government

Time limit

The pilot program would end on September 30, 2031.

Relevant Companies

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