The Cyber Security Recruiting Dilemma - A Contractor Solution For Cyber Warriors

In the cyber world everything happens quickly. New technology, new threats, new regulations and new players are constantly emerging and in order for the United States to compete and remain secure, qualified people are required - and we don't have them.

In a recent article entitled Cyberwarrior Shortage Threatens U.S. Security (by Tom Gjeltin, the author makes the following points:

· The United States is the most vulnerable country for cyber attacks.

· United States cyber defenses are not up to the challenge.

· The protection of U.S. cyber assets requires an "army" of cyber warriors but recruitment of that force is suffering. Conservative estimates are that at least 1,000 "cyberwarriors"

Not only are new candidates hard to find but existing agency personnel are leaving. This problem is beginning to be recognized by the community at large. This is a serious problem and the solution needs to include the private contractor community as well as direct hiring by government agencies. As a recent study concluded:

The ability of government agencies to fulfill their missions is in peril, requiring immediate and thoughtful attention to the recruitment, hiring and retention of talented IT professionals. Without the right people in the right jobs, our government's ability to accomplish its mission will be hindered by failing projects and high attrition rates. By investing in IT talent, government will ensure mission success and maintain a safe and prosperous nation. (Source ISSUE BRIEF | BUILDING AN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY WORKFORCE; Partnership for Public Service)

The United States Federal Government is remarkable successful in certain limited areas (e.g. defense and transportation) but recruiting cyberwarriors is clearly not in their core capabilities for a number of very good reasons:

· Cyber warriors are in high demand and the search process requires agile, innovative approaches. Government agencies are burdened with a great number of rules that inhibit the process.

· Government Employee hiring is notoriously slow. Turn around averages about 200 days and if high level clearances are required add about six months or 180 days to the process. Total time to recruit and hire a technically qualified person with required high level clearances (required by most of Cyber Command) - over 1 year.

· It is hard to change government employee status if requirements change or the employee fails to perform.

· Generally speaking government agencies don't expend effort on research and development required to keep up with technology and cyber attack strategy and tactics.

The above reasons are a part of the reasons that Government Cyber Security agencies (DHS and Cyber Command) look to contractors to supply cyberwarriors. Contractors add the innovation and facileness required to reduce the shortage for cyberwarriors. In addition, contractors add specific value in the following ways:

· Many contractors include aggressive recruiting in their business model and effectively use social networking for maximum job requisition exposure.

· Often, contractors recruit from existing staff, prior employees or through the use of social networking sites. These techniques are especially valuable when searching for candidates with high level security clearances. The turnaround on job requisitions averages 30-60 days.

· Each contract issued by a government agency has termination for convenience/cause clauses. The net effect is that if the government decides that it no longer needs or wants the cyberwarrior(s) provided - the agency can terminate the contract and fire the contractor. This gives the respective agency tremendous flexibility.

· Contractors generally engage in internally funded research and development (IR&D) and pass this on to government agencies in the form of better skilled experts and cyberwarriors.

Are Contract Employees More Expensive?

The answer is no.

Recently, contractor compensation has come under administration and media criticism as a waste of taxpayer dollars. Contractors have been portrayed as having an incestuous relationship with key agencies like those in the Intelligence community (IC). This criticism is unfair and not based on facts:

When contracts respond to agency Request for Proposal they must supply forward pricing and identify three levels of cost in detail: direct labor, fringe benefits (health insurance, paid time off, matching social security, workers compensation, unemployment insurance etc.), General and Administrative (Rent, office staff, executive salaries etc.) To the total of all the costs is added a "fee" which represents profit for the contractor (6-8%). A "fully burdened" hourly rate is calculated.

During the RFP process a Basis of Estimate (BOE) is prepared showing the number of hours required for a particular task (defined by the agency). To this estimate is multiplied the fully burdened hourly rate to determine the cost. If the contractor produces rates that are too high, it may lose the contract or, if it wins and costs are less that estimated, it must return to the government the excess. An agency called DCAA (Defense Contract Audit Agency.

As regards the elements of the fully burdened hourly rate the following should be noted:

· Direct labor rates (the amount of salary actually paid to the employee) of federal employees have increased dramatically as compared to contractor employee salaries. Some estimates are the government employee salaries are 25% higher.

· Generally speaking contractor employees are more flexible for overtime if required.

· Federal employee benefits are more lucrative than contractor benefits including separate health care (richer than the recent public health care bill passed), pension (richer than social security), greater paid time off and other benefits.

· The cost per hour per employee for Federal workers does not include any burden for General and Administrative costs - these heavy burdens for office space, utilities, office equipment and other support expenses are paid by the tax payer.

· The only area that use of Federal employees avoids is the contractor profit fee but when one considers the higher pay, benefits and the tax payer subsidized G&A costs, this is a relatively small item at 6-8%.

The bottom line is that the Federal Government needs highly qualified cyberwarriors and it needs them now in order to protect the welfare of the nation. When one compares this specialized need, and the need to protect the success of its cyber missions, the best choice is contractor provided employees.

Jon M. Stout is Chief Executive Officer of Aspiration Software LLC. Aspiration Software LLC is an Information Technology/Cyber Security services provider focused on the Intelligence Community (IC). For more information about Cyber Security and Employment Opportunities in the Intelligence Community go to http://aspirationsoftware.com

What We Need To Do In Confronting The Energy Predicament Dilemma

The United States has the most energy resources of any country on the planet. Let me repeat it one more time. The United States possesses more energy resources than any country. Most nations would be tickled pink if they had half of the energy resources that are available to us. America has an abundance of various energy resources spanning from coast to coast.

The power generated from various energy resources is what fuels the modern world. No great country can exist without an abundance of energy. Energy is what provides heating and cooling for our homes, runs our centers of production, moves our transportation systems for the people and products, energy allows hospitals to function, and it also is used to defend our soil by means of making an effective military possible. The United States has coal, wind, geothermal, solar, natural gas, petroleum, and even gigantic rivers. Energy is a tool that allows society to function.

The Hoover Dam [Boulder Dam] is located between Arizona and Nevada in the Colorado River's Black Canyon terrain. The dam is located only a short distance from Las Vegas, Nevada. It is worth seeing if you are ever out that way. The dam produces hydroelectric power for Arizona, Nevada, and much of California. The Hoover Dam has giant turbines that use the free-flowing water from the Colorado River to generate an enormous amount of hydroelectric power. The Hoover Dam has produced energy effectively for over seventy years. The dam has returned the upfront cost of building it many times to the taxpayers.

The southwest section of the United States is ripe for expanding current and future solar technology. The sun supplies an endless source of power and it would be a horrible waste to refuse to utilize this vast supply of energy in areas of the nation that can make the most use of it. Germany countered the Arab embargo of the late 1970's by becoming the greatest innovators of solar power in the world. Germany has continued solar research continuously to this very day. They have no intentions of their nation being dependent on imported petroleum in the coming years.

For over a century the Appalachian Mountains have been mining coal. The Northeast part of the United States has used the Appalachian coal for industrial and residential use for several generations. Coal is abundant, affordable, and research might make coal clean burning over time. All nations should make the maximum use of their natural resources. An abundance of coal is one of our natural resources. Remember the old saying "Waste not want not".

Wind power has existed for hundreds of years. The Vikings were able to cross the Atlantic Ocean using wind power to sail their ships. Scandinavian windmills have produced power for scores of years. Famous paintings depicting Dutch children wearing wooden shoes and playing near windmills still exist. Scandinavian windmills effectively produce electrical power. These same Scandinavian countries are currently the world's leader in windmill technology.

The nuclear age was born at the end of the World War II era. Weapons of mass destruction have been a byproduct of nuclear energy. Many countries now use nuclear energy to power their cities and factories. Nuclear power is clean and reliable. Nuclear power is also very expensive and dangerous to handle. Over a generation has gone by without the construction of one nuclear power plant. This is because the risk related to nuclear power is very high. Nuclear power plants want liability limits in case of a nuclear power plant disaster occurring. The cost of insuring a nuclear power plant mishap is too expensive. That should tell you something. Also, nuclear power plants want a designated area where they can dump the waste [spent nuclear fuel]. The designated area would relieve the owners from any mishaps that might occur. One thing to consider is where on earth can you hide the spent nuclear material from Mother Nature, or a Superior Being [for the religious believers], or both. The lifespan for nuclear material is thousands of years. The thousands of years is not the time we have to solve the disposal dilemma but it is instead the amount of years we would have to contain the nuclear material. The risk is too great without a better understanding of how to properly contain the spent nuclear waste.

We also have an abundance of natural gas. Several millions cars in the world currently run on compressed natural gas but only 150,000 cars exist in this country that are fueled by compressed natural gas. Vehicles running on compressed natural gas run cleaner than vehicles that run on gasoline. Compressed natural gas cost less than gasoline. We would not need to import compressed natural gas from countries that despise us, as we do petroleum from the Middle East. There is no downside to using compressed natural gas to fuel our vehicles. How dumb can we be to buy less clean fuel from terrorist nations at a higher price than our own fuel, at a lesser cost that is cleaner to burn? Let's wise up America!

Petroleum producing states such as Texas, Oklahoma, and Alaska has been a source of fueling cars in this nation for a century. Offshore drilling has produced futile fields of petroleum in the Gulf of Mexico. Offshore drilling off the coast of Florida and the Northwestern States would increase our petroleum output enormously. Our current energy policy is to buy petroleum from Middle Eastern nations that use the profits of their petroleum sales to finance terrorists. The terrorists use the money to finance the destruction of our cities. We then send our military to invade the Middle East. This creates instability in the price of petroleum, which results in us spending more on Middle East petroleum. The terrorists can then receive even more money to finance future terrorist acts. And so on. What kind-of-an energy policy is that?

We need to become energy self-sufficient. Some people believe we, as a nation cannot afford the associated cost of becoming energy sufficient. The fact is that we cannot afford to not become energy sufficient. We have the resources and the technology capacity to become energy sufficient. The only thing that might prevent us from becoming energy sufficient is do we have the will to be self-sufficient. Imagine how much energy can be harnessed for the world if technology can convert to energy the hot air that comes out of Washington D.C. when Congress is in session.

The question confronting us is do we have the will to do whatever it takes to become an energy sufficient nation?

What do you think America? It is something for you to ponder over.

http://fuddlemuckers.com
FuddleMuckers LLC
Tom Watson, Member

The Digital Gypsy's Dilemma: The Best Place To Live For An Internet Based Business

If you've got a digital business that really only requires a connection to the net to do business, your concerns boil down to having a cost structure that maximizes your profit while providing you with a high quality of life. Being productive is difficult in an environment where you're miserable. Having a high quality of life isn't a guarantee of success, but it sure makes it easier to be productive.

The problem is that most of the really enjoyable places aren't exactly what we'd call "low-cost" and in order to live in a nice place you're business will have to really produce, or you'll have to hold down a job while you try to build your internet business. At some point this juggling act gets out of hand and your business will demand enough time that you can no longer hold down a job to pay the bills. If your internet business isn't producing enough to pay the bills, your only options are to downsize and cut expenses, burn capital in hopes that your business will produce more later on or give up on the business altogether.

Those can be hard choices. Our vote is to minimize expenses and save as much money as long as possible. The lower your burn rate the longer you last, and thus the better your chances of success.

For many people, this means trying to find a low-cost location that still provides high-quality infrastructure, and that usually means living somewhere that isn't that desirable and doesn't offer a very high quality of life. Sure, there are places in Kansas where they're practically giving away houses, but who wants to live in Kansas? The people who want to live in Kansas are already there, but the state has a declining population because of all the people who are moving out. Same goes for North and South Dakota. Just think "40 degrees below zero" and you'll get an idea why.

Most entrepreneurs agree that they are more productive in a pleasant environment.

Radically Lower Your Costs By Moving Offshore

One of the best solutions to the dilemma is to move abroad to a low-cost location with excellent infrastructure, and in this article we'll discuss the relative advantages of Margarita Island.

Margarita is an island off the coast of Venezuela, and it's the largest of the three islands that make up the Venezuelan State of Nueva Esparta. Margarita is the lowest-cost island in the Caribbean, but it has the added advantage of not being an independent country. If you've been to other Caribbean islands, you already know what we're talking about: Island nations have to be self-supporting, and they usually do this through the mechanism of sky-high customs fees, so everything on the island is very expensive.

Margarita has excellent infrastructure, with DSL available in the major cities of the island. Margarita is also known as a "free port" which doesn't mean that there are no customs duties, but rather that the national sales tax (14.6%) doesn't apply there. It has an airport with direct flights to Frankfort and Toronto (but not to the US- for that you have to transfer at Caracas), so travel isn't that difficult. It isn't like other island locations where "you can't get there from here- you have to go someplace else first."

Cost Of Living On Margarita

Where Margarita Island really shines is the low cost of living. A single person or a couple can live comfortably on less than $1000 a month (if they own their own home or apartment), and that includes having a housekeeper and going out to eat at nice restaurants several times a week. The low cost of living is combined with tropical island living- you only need a single wardrobe, and formal dress is practically unheard of down here.

Housing: Housing costs are reasonable. If you're looking for an apartment in a nice area, plan on spending somewhere between $40k and $70k for a nice 2 bedroom 2 bath (quite often you can find fully furnished apartments for sale). Rental apartments can be had for anywhere from $400.00 to $800.00 a month for really nice places: ocean view, secure building, nicely furnished, nice neighborhood. Housing in less desirable neighborhoods will run anywhere from $200.00 to $300.00 a month, but your Spanish had better be pretty good.

Medical Insurance and Medical Costs: Medical insurance for an individual will cost about $150.00 to $200.00 per month, although if you're young and healthy you can do without and just go to the public clinic if you get sick (they're free). Your Spanish needs to be good enough for basic communication, and if you're hospitalized you must have someone who isn't sick who can help care for you (the public hospitals don't provide linens, blankets or meals). Medical costs for dental work are really cheap (typically 10% to 15% of what you'd get charged in the US), and just about any medical procedure you can imagine is available on Margarita for 15% to 20% of what you'd pay in the US. If you've got a young family, you'll really see your costs drop.

Having a baby by C-section will cost about $2500.00 (all inclusive) for a 2 day stay at a good private hospital.
Having a baby naturally would cost about $1000.00 (all inclusive) for a 2 to 3 day stay at a good private hospital.
Getting braces with a good orthodontist will cost about $900.00 to $1600.00, depending on how much work is required.
Minor liposuction is a hundred dollars or so, major liposuction will go upwards of $300.00 to $600.00.
A major cosmetic overhaul, combining liposuction with a facelift and a breast-job will be less than $3000.00.
Chelation therapy (IV with Sodium EDTA) is about $20.00 per session.
Basic doctor visits cost about $20.00 to see a good private physician.

Vehicle Insurance: Getting insurance for vehicles offers you two choices: Full coverage or liability only. The full coverage costs about 15% of the book value of your vehicle annually. Liability insurance costs about $130.00 annually. It doesn't matter what kind of vehicle, they don't care if you have a drivers license or not, and there is very little paperwork if you're in an accident and they have to pay.

Vehicles: Used vehicles are expensive, new vehicles are cheap (compared to the US), and for lots more information read our article on buying a vehicle on Margarita [http://bulletproofretirement.com/public/220.cfm]. The cost of everything associated with owning a vehicle is cheap. We just had a water pump replaced, and the cost was $74.00: parts were $45.00, labor $29.00. Gasoline is about 12 cents per gallon, so get used to filling your tank with pocket change.

Food: Food costs are highly variable compared to the US, based on what you want to eat and whether you can eat the local products or whether you're brand-loyal to an imported brand. We see our food costs hovering around 1/2 of what we spent in rural Kentucky, but we don't buy a lot of processed food.

Entertainment: This is a highly variable expense. Going out to eat is cheap, with a 4 to 5 star restaurant costing $30.00 to $40.00 for two, including a few drinks per person. Buying a bottle of wine will adjust the price according to your tastes in wine (wine is also cheap). Dinner and coffee for 2 at a nice restaurant will cost less than $20.00, and you can eat a full meal at a lot of places for about $5.00 to $6.00. Movie tickets cost about $2.00 and going to the beach can cost anything from nothing (bring your own umbrella, drinks and food) to $20.00 to $30.00, depending on whether you rent an umbrella and chair and eat at one of the beachfront restaurants. Going to an internet cafe costs about 50 cents per hour, and sitting at the mall people watching doesn't cost anything.

Phone: Plan on spending about $40.00 to $60.00 a month for combined home phone and cellular phone, and if your area can get DSL, you can look up the charges on CanTV's webpage to see what you'd have to pay.

Electric: Depends on your accommodations and usage. We have friends who pay about $15.00 a month, and we've paid about $100.00 a month running the AC 24/7 in a large apartment. Some people bribe a power company guy to "fix" their meter so that it's somewhat slow, and some people just hook up a wire to the power line (an illegal hookup). It's common.

Water: Water is pumped over from the mainland, and it's unbelievably cheap: maybe $2.00 to $5.00 per month. Garbage pickup is included in the water bill. If you have an apartment you'll probably see this expense covered in your condo fees.

Getting Residency

Americans are hung up on the idea of doing things "by the book" but Latin America isn't like that: in most cases there is a solution to your problem that involves paying an official to take a special interest in getting your problem solved. It's possible to live on Margarita as a tourist, going to the airport every three months and paying someone at Immigration about $40.00 to stamp your passport with an exit and entry stamp, extending your stay another 3 months. You're only supposed to be able to do this once, but they don't care. You're spending money on their island and you aren't causing problems, so what's the problem? You want to stay? You have money? No problem.

It's also possible to get a permanent residency visa without too much trouble, and there are lawyers on the Island who can help "expedite" this issue for a fee. You're paying them for their help and what they do to get you taken care of is their business. The permanent residency visa is good for 5 years and you can get a Cedula (national ID card) so you won't have to carry your passport around with you. This makes you legal, and you won't have to worry about your immigration status.

Permanent residency status qualifies you for citizenship after a while (the amount of time depends on when the next election is- it seems Señor Chavez has been allowing people to become citizens if they'll vote for him). This is a great deal because Venezuela is issuing Andean Community passports that meet all the security requirements for travel in the modern world, and it's good for visa-free travel to 56 countries, including almost all of Europe. In today's world having a second passport is an extremely wise idea: you don't know what the future holds.

Doing Business

The ideal situation is to sell to the US or Europe (charging US or European prices) while living in a really low-cost place area that provides a high quality of life. Margarita is perfect for a digital entrepreneur who wants to do this. The money you make will go a lot further than you'd believe, and what you don't spend you can either save and invest or put back into your business.

Regulation of digital businesses on Margarita is non-existent. There are no licenses, permits or other issues involved. You can pretty much do what you want- and it isn't a matter of hiding, there's nothing to hide from. Because your status is essentially that of a tourist, you're handled with kid-gloves: the authorities don't want to annoy the goose that lays the golden eggs, so tourists are pretty much left alone to play and spend money.

Taxation is another interesting issue. As a US citizen, if you reside outside the US you've got an $86,000.00 tax exemption (your wife can also make $86,000.00), so you've got tax-free income between $86,000.00 and $172,000.00. Venezuela doesn't tax you on money you make outside the country, so in effect you've got the best of all worlds: an extremely low cost of living, high quality of life and no taxes.

What it comes down to is having a business model that works, and having the time to do business. A business model that wouldn't support you in the US might very well give you a lifestyle on Margarita that you couldn't ever have in the US. If you put the time and effort into your business you might eventually see it grow into a really nice income producer. While it's growing you'll avoid taxes and have a really low cost of living. At such a time as your income is high enough, you can take your business anywhere in the world that has a 'net connection.

We don't know of any place in the US where you can have such a low cost of living and high quality of life as Margarita, and with its excellent infrastructure it's a perfect place for a digital entrepreneur.

Copyright 2006 Bulletproof Retirement

All Rights Reserved

Brian Botta

[http://bulletproofretirement.com]