NIST-NICE Framework
CYBERSECURITY WORKFORCE FRAMEWORK
The NICE Framework (NIST SP 800-181) is a lexicon of categories and work roles, with statements that describe tasks, knowledge, and skills (TKSs) providing a foundation for cybersecurity work.
NICE Framework: How it’s organized
The NICE Framework aims to facilitate the exchange in communication of cybersecurity work across organizations, at a peer level, sector level, national level, or international level.
The two main concepts of the NICE Framework are:
The cybersecurity work is referred to as Task statements and describes Knowledge and Skills statements that provide a foundation for learners including self-starters, students, job seekers, and employees.
NICE Cybersecurity Categories
Categories provide the overarching organizational structure of the NICE Framework. There are seven Categories and all are composed of Work Roles. This organizational structure is based on extensive job analysis, which group together work and workers that share common major functions, regardless of job titles or other occupational terms.
Securely Provision
Operate & Maintain
Oversee & Govern
Protect & Defend
Analyze
Collect & Operate
Investigate
Cybersecurity Work Roles
Work roles are the most detailed groupings of cybersecurity and related work which include a list of attributes required to fulfill that role in the form of Tasks, Knowledge, and Skills (TKSs) performed in that role.
Cybersecurity TKSs
Tasks – is a specified defined piece of work that, combined with other identified Tasks, composes the work in a specific speciality area or work role.
Knowledge – is a body of information applied directly to the performance of a function.
Skills – needed for cybersecurity rely less on physical manipulation of tools and instruments and more on applying tools, frameworks, processes and controls that have an impact on the cybersecurity posture of an organization or individual.
Utilizing the NICE Framework for Employers, Individuals & Educators
Employers
The use of the NICE Framework’s common lexicon enables employers to inventory and develop their cybersecurity workforce. CyberKnights enables employers and organizational leadership to:
- Establish a shared terminology between hiring managers and human resource staff for recruiting, retention, and trainings
- Inventory and track their cybersecurity workforce to gain a greater understanding of the strengths and gaps in TKSs performed;
- Identify training and qualification requirements to develop TKSs;
- Improve position description and job vacancy announcements by selected relevant TKSs by for an existing employee or candidate for automatic match;
- Identify the most relevant work roles and develop career paths to guide staff in gaining requisite skills for each role
Using the CyberKnights online platform, employers looking for cybersecurity talent can match with the exact talent they need based on the NICE framework. Cybersecurity recruiting is made easy as employers can quickly match with individuals of specific talents to provide the cybersecurity intellect that their company needs.
Individuals
The NICE Framework supports those in the cybersecurity field, and those who might wish to enter the cybersecurity field, to explore tasks within cybersecurity categories and work roles. The framework also assists those who support these workers, such as human resource staffing specialists and guidance counselors, to help job seekers and students understand the cybersecurity work roles and which associated TKSs are being valued by employers for in-demand cybersecurity jobs and positions.
CyberKnights leverages the NICE Framework’s common lexicon to provide clear and consistent descriptions of jobs and automatically matches the needs of the employer to what the individual has. Leveraging CyberKnights as a means to upskill and/or reskill is an important feature to making yourself more marketable within cybersecurity. CyberKnights also enables an individual to create a career map that helps keep them focused on their goals and how to achieve them.
Educators and Training Providers
The NICE Framework provides a reference for educators to develop cybersecurity curriculum, certificate or degree programs, training programs, courses, seminars, and exercises or challenges that cover the TKSs described in the NICE Framework. Human resource staffing specialists and guidance counselors can also use the NICE Framework as a resource for cybersecurity career exploration.
Within CyberKnights, cybersecurity professors can understand their student TKSs and realize how their cybersecurity curriculum supports the student. This enables professors to look at future course development or a modification of existing courseware. CyberKnights helps to connect cybersecurity academics with cybersecurity training providers in order to support collaboration and increase classroom enrollment. CyberKnights also helps students obtain high-paying job opportunities before, during, or after their education is complete, making the job searching process easier.