November 30, 2017: Internships for veterans, cyber classes for high school and college students and mentoring programs — aimed especially at middle-school girls — are among the ways states are trying to beef up their cybersecurity ranks.

Cybersecurity is the most pressing issue for state information technology officials, as hackers and cybercriminals increasingly take aim at government networks, which contain information such as Social Security, bank account and credit card numbers of millions of people and businesses.

But hiring and keeping qualified IT staffers, particularly cybersecurity experts, continues to be a serious problem for states, according to a recent survey of state chief information officers. Job candidates “don’t perceive state government as an attractive and challenging work environment,” the report found.

State cyber salaries generally can’t match those in private industry and it’s often hard to move up the ladder in state government. And the disappearance of generous government retirement plans is making the jobs less appealing to cyber professionals.

Read more: Cybersecurity Quest Sends States to Vets, Students and Women (Huffington Post, www.huffingtonpost.com)