The global IT skills shortage is predicted to impact 90% of organizations by 2026, according to IDC. Out of this impact, the number of cybersecurity vacancies is particularly concerning in federal IT and security departments, especially as cyberattacks on critical infrastructure and government agencies continue to rise. This has caught the federal government’s attention, causing the White House to begin an initiative to fill 500,000 vacant cybersecurity positions.

With global pressures contributing to cyber threats and digital dependencies higher than ever, the stakes are too high for federal agencies to have an IT talent shortfall. It’s time for agencies to forego legacy hiring and change tactics to instead focus on resource optimization processes that effectively address the persisting federal IT work shortage.

How has the hiring problem gotten worse?

The federal government’s current hiring and recruitment practices present unique challenges to solving its own talent shortage. Most government IT hiring practices are long and include a lot of bureaucratic tape, making it harder to simply hire their way out of the problem. These recruitment challenges are even more daunting at national security agencies, where new hires must undergo lengthy security clearance processes. IT and cybersecurity jobs also pay less than private industry positions, making them less attractive to prospective employees.

In addition to losing talent, government IT and security teams are losing skills as time goes on. As federal IT teams struggle to hire junior talent, seasoned staff members are retiring with fewer staff in the workforce to whom they can pass on their skills. Regulatory pressures are also growing for government IT workforces. These departments must adhere to federal directives that require an accelerated adoption of newer cybersecurity and AI practices.

AI and automation can fill in where talent can’t

Artificial intelligence and automation can provide a valuable pathway to solving the federal IT talent shortage. However, it’s important to note that AI will not replace talent. Instead, AI and automation will augment and accelerate governmental operation workloads to maximize productivity across all government teams.

Much of the public sector is already leveraging AI in this manner, and several good examples exist. In public safety, AI models aid departments in emergency response by recognizing crime hotspots and suggesting resource allocation. Municipalities across the U.S. are leveraging AI to manage traffic flow, predict congestion, and optimize transportation routes. AI is transforming healthcare through enhanced experiences, intelligent automation and predictive insights. We are seeing it aid with personalized care, streamlining patient engagement and anticipating customer needs with precision — leading to improved patient care, operational efficiency and strategic foresight.

For government IT departments, using AI and automation will minimize the smaller, more repetitive workloads that take up time and effort. In cybersecurity, AI-driven cyber solutions can automatically identify and in some instances, respond to cyber incidents. The ultimate goal is to maximize staff time, enabling them to focus on more high-value and complex tasks. This is vital, especially now due to the increase in cyberattacks and government mandates, which will mean less time for teams to spend on IT tasks that aren’t a higher priority.

There should be a measured approach to AI implementation

AI can, and in many cases, already allows federal IT teams to match the production necessary in this new digital landscape. If government IT security teams develop a proper AI-focused IT and cyber strategy, they can leverage it for multiple use cases.

Let’s take content generation, for example. With AI, system administrators can generate content in the desired format to optimize servers and networks and help users troubleshoot tech issues.

Security administrators can also leverage AI to enhance knowledge management. Instead of reviewing and determining access controls for every document or file in their environment, administrators can train an AI model to analyze and classify non-classified and sensitive data, making it easier and safer to access.

AI can also help with discovery and intelligence gathering. The right AI models can gather and summarize datasets to provide a clear picture of what’s coming into an IT environment. Further, they can identify the risks associated with incoming data and provide detailed alerts to administrators. This will help government cybersecurity teams prioritize which risks to address in real-time, optimizing their time and resources.

To take advantage of all the benefits AI provides for government IT and security teams, there are a few best practices IT teams should enact as they develop their IT strategies:

Keep humans in the loop — AI is not here to replace humans but to amplify their ability to solve organizational goals. In many instances, AI supports decision-making but isn’t unilaterally executing operational functions. IT and security teams should have at least one or two team members fluent in AI practices to help turn AI output into enhanced workflows.

Upskilling — Federal IT teams don’t have to handle cybersecurity or network optimization burdens alone. Some organizations are already upskilling personnel in non-IT departments, equipping them to join or actively support IT teams. Investing in programs that educate personnel in broader cybersecurity disciplines and IT best practices helps create cybersecurity champions responsible for enforcing best practices on their internal teams.

Domain-specific AI — AI solutions will work best when it’s domain-specific. This creates the best return on investment, especially for security and observability use cases. Domain-specific AI solutions will be closely integrated into IT workflows, enabling AI solutions to operate in more relevant contexts.

Hiring needs aren’t slowing down anytime soon; federal IT teams need to adjust

The World Economic Forum recently reported a global shortage of nearly 4 million cyber professionals. Unfortunately, with more of the world leaning on cloud technology, hybrid workforces and AI/ML, that number may only increase in the U.S. and abroad. Federal IT departments must do everything they can to ensure the number of people on their teams isn’t a direct catalyst to gaps in IT or cybersecurity performance. Hiring more people isn’t the only option — it’s time for federal IT leaders to invest in AI tooling that can maximize team efficiency and meet the standards necessary to optimize and protect federal networks.

LaLisha Hurt is public sector federal industry advisor at Splunk.

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