Where are Abby and Tim when we need them?

Many of the FBI field agents assigned to combat cyber threats say they do not have enough expertise to do it, according to a new report from the Justice Department’s inspector general.Justice Department officials found that more than a third of the 36 FBI agents surveyed said they don’t have the networking or counterintelligence expertise needed to effectively investigate national security breaches. The report also said that field offices lacked the forensic and analytical capabilities to take on national security investigations.
Recent high-profile cases such as the Sony PS3 Network breach have raised the level of national awareness.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who has proposed cybersecurity legislation on Capitol Hill, said the need for a capable cybersecurity work force is “more urgent than ever.”“The threat of cyber attacks continues to grow every day,” said Collins, ranking member on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, in a statement. “That is why it is so troubling that the federal government has not adequately trained its cyber professionals to combat these threats.”…A dearth of trained cybersecurity professionals is plaguing government and industry efforts, with some analysts estimating that the U.S. needs 20,000 to 30,000 more people to adequately defend cyberspace.
