Hire Iraq Veterans For Information Security Jobs

U.S. faces ‘enormous’ security challenges as global demographics change, former Reagan administration official says
By Jaikumar Vijayan 

ORLANDO — In a tight job market, U.S. companies might want to consider Iraq war veterans for information security jobs, retired Lt. Col. Oliver North said today in a keynote address at the Infosec World 2008 security conference and trade show being held here this week.

North, a former member of the National Security Council during the Reagan administration, noted the rising unemployment rate in general and the jobless rate among returning Iraqi war veterans in particular. One way to address the situation is to consider giving employment in the technology sector to returning veterans because they embody many of the core values and skills that companies need to compete in a rapidly changing global marketplace, North said. 

"There are 225,000 young Americans with combat experience looking for good jobs," North said. "These are the brightest and the best of this generation," North said. "They certainly deserve to be employed by companies like yours," he said to conference attendees.

North made the suggestion during a keynote address that focused on the "enormous" challenges faced by the U.S. in the new millennium…

Many of the challenges will stem from a major transformation in the economic models of the U.S., Europe and Japan over the next several years as a result of demographic changes to which few people in power are paying attention, North said.

For example, lower birth rates in Europe will result in a 30% decline in the continent’s workforce over the next two decades, North said. The trend will mean an increasing reliance on workers from neighboring countries in the region, he said.

Similarly, in Japan, where birth rates are also declining, the workforce will shrink by an estimated 50 million people over the next three decades, North said. The combination of declining birth rates and a shrinking workforce will result in economic contraction for many of these countries, he said.

In the U.S., meanwhile, much of the predicted 30% growth in population over the next few decades will come from immigrants, both legal and illegal, he said. "Geriatrics like me cannot [deliver] what America needs to grow economically," he said.

At the same time, countries such as China and India are going through "tremendous economic growth" and could become sources of industrial espionage activity as they strive to gain technological supremacy, North said. China, India and Russia are all making significant investments in the military even as "petro-dollars" are funding a range of jihadist activities against the U.S., he said.

It is against this backdrop that U.S. companies will need to protect their information and technology assets, North said. "Are we able to protect our information from others? The answer is ‘only if we try,’" he said.

A lot will depend on how this country uses IT and information security, not only to detect and intercept threats against the U.S., but also to protect its information assets, North said.

"Our technical capabilities remain unsurpassed in terms of intercepting communications," North said. Unfortunately, the U.S. lacks that same capability for protecting this country’s information assets, he said, pointing to the "enormous seepage of information" that was occurring on government networks.