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Departments Recruiting for Security Specialist Positions

The departments seek candidates with expertise in recognizing, assessing and mitigating threats to their information security. One of the roles also involves working with other governmental jurisdictions on shared initiatives and cyber defense efforts.

Two large departments in state government are seeking expertise in the area of cyber defense.

The Office of Systems Integration (OSI), part of the California Health and Human Services Agency, is recruiting for a cyber defense adviser (IT specialist III) to serve as the agency’s liaison to the California Cybersecurity Integration Center (Cal-CSIC) Cyber Operations Branch, part of the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES). Cal-CSIC is “the central organizing hub of the state government’s cybersecurity activities,” according to the job posting.

The cyber defense adviser will “provide guidance and advice to CHHS on methods to investigate, document and report on cybersecurity issues and emerging trends, and will provide actionable technical and tactical cyber information and intelligence to federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) governmental and private sector partners through ad hoc reports, briefings, and presentations,” the posting says. “The incumbent will work with the Cal-CSIC and OES teams using cutting-edge security technology to create relevant and timely cyber threat products including advisories, recommended actions, and bulletins to assist California and partner entities to include Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC), federal and SLTT personnel, and assist in applying prescribed analytical standards.”

The adviser position requires flexibility, as the incumbent “may be required to work in the State Operations Center (SOC), Regional Emergency Operations Center (REOC), Joint Field Office (JFO), Area Field Office (AFO), Local Assistance Center (LAC), or other location to provide assistance in emergency response and recovery activities,” the duty statement notes. “All staff are required to complete operational related training and participate in one of three Readiness Teams that rotate activation availability on a monthly basis if not assigned to an Operational Branch. ... May be required to participate in emergency drills, training and exercises.”

Responsibilities of the position include:

  • Serving as a subject matter expert in cybersecurity.
  • Assessing and recommending the appropriate security controls to senior executive management and describing how the controls are employed within the CHHS entities’ information systems and environments of operation to the health and human services sector.
  • Analyze cybersecurity threat intelligence collected from a variety of the most cutting-edge resources to determine patterns and trends within the state.
  • Working in the areas of incident response, threat response and asset response.

The position has a monthly salary range of $8,488 to $11,375, and the recruitment will continue until the position is filled.

The California Department of Motor Vehicles is recruiting for a security analyst (IT specialist I) to oversee the collection and reporting of incidents related to information security affecting the department.

“The incumbent receives escalated phone calls and e-mails of information security incidents from business units, reviews all pertinent information security incident information, and accurately enters incidents in the California Cyber Security Incident Reporting System (Cal-CSIRS),” the job posting says. “The incumbent produces historical information security incident reports for various divisional and departmental security liaisons and executive management. The incumbent collaborates with the DMV Privacy Protection Office in gathering information security incident information used for breach notification letters. The incumbent responds to inquiries made by the Office of Information Security regarding the status of information security incidents reported into Cal-CSIRS.”

Additional responsibilities include providing expertise, leadership, guidance and training to departmental staff in the areas of information security awareness, incident reporting, risk management, mitigation and business continuity, according to the duty statement. And upon request, the analyst also compiles statistical security incident information for internal departmental business units, the DMV Privacy Protection Office and the Office of Information Security.

The position has a monthly salary range of $5,815 to $9,408, and the application deadline is Aug. 20.
Dennis Noone is Executive Editor of Industry Insider. He is a career journalist, having worked at small-town newspapers and major metropolitan dailies including USA Today in Washington, D.C.