Software Engineering Institute (SEI) Podcast Series · Members of Technical Staff at the Software Engineering Institute

With a Little Help from Our Civilian Friends: Cybersecurity Reserve Is Both Feasible and Advisable

·49 min·45 clips

Mike Winter frames the conversation around SEI's report to Congress. He introduces Chris Mann and Marie Baker as the guests best placed to talk about both policy and engineering reality. Mann is the director of the Department of War Cyber Academic Engagement Office and also the technical director of CERT's Cyber Mission Readiness. Baker is the technical manager in SEI's CERT division. The report looks at whether a civilian cyber security reserve is feasible and advisable. The stakes are tied to a June 2025 estimate that the department was short over 20,000 cyber professionals, with 7,000 described as essential positions. That shortage gives the discussion urgency. The team expected civilians to be hesitant, since private-sector pay usually wins. The interviews produced the opposite result. Many people said they would absolutely serve. The guests describe that finding as unexpectedly refreshing. They stress that the motivation was broader than career interest. People wanted to contribute to something larger, help on behalf of the country, and work with other experts. Winter and the guests treat that willingness as the real surprise. The conversation then widens to an example from the hacker community. At Black Hat DEFCON, the DEFCON Franklin project has volunteers assess township-level water facilities and provide vulnerability assessments, mitigation recommendations, and, in some cases, support if requested. The closing turn links the reserve idea to a broader point about shaping tomorrow now instead of replaying yesterday.

As heard by us

A practical case for turning civilian cyber talent into national security capacity.

The episode treats cyber talent as a staffing problem with national security implications, not as a crisis story. Mike Winter, Chris Mann, and Marie Baker anchor that argument in a report to Congress and in the June 2025 estimate of more than 20,000 missing cyber professionals,…

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See why a civilian cyber reserve may already have the volunteers.

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