Federal agencies can't compete for top cybersecurity analysts, says FBI.

• Position: GOVERNMENT RECORDS - Federal Bureau of Investigation - Brief article

An FBI official recently claimed that U.S. federal agencies have a shortage of cybersecurity analysts, which is contributing to the vulnerability of the nation's computer networks, according to a report on LegalTechNews.com

At a public event in Manhattan, Agent Prashanth Mekala of the FBI's New York office said it takes unique skills to detect such "bad actors," and the government is failing to compete well with high tech companies in recruiting such experts.

"In the federal government, there's a shortage of skills of folks within cybersecurity space," Mekala said. "There is a growing third party in the private sector that we are also competing with."

Google and Microsoft, for example, hire many of the same cyber-sawy candidates that law enforcement agencies pursue. Mekala said the problem is affecting the National Security Agency (NSA), the CIA, the Department of Defense, and the FBI.

Professor Nasir Memon, New York University Tandon School of Engineering, asserted that an effective cybersecurity analyst must be trained in analyzing human behavior as well as the technology.

"Security is not just a...