Concerns persist over self-reported cyber readiness as DoD overhauls workforce management

U.S. Army Sgt. Shaquille Bullock, an information technology specialist with the J6 Command, Control, Communications, and Computers Directorate, D.C. National Guard, works in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 29, 2025. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Renee Crugnale)

By Anastasia Obis • Dec 22, 2025

Pentagon officials acknowledged that military services could inflate cyber readiness levels as the Defense Department works to standardize how it manages its cyber workforce, but said the effort is still in its early stages and validation mechanisms are being developed to prevent “rubber-stamping” qualifications.

While the Pentagon is moving away from relying solely on individual military services to self-assess cyber readiness, it still largely depends on self-reported data, which raises concerns about the accuracy of readiness reporting.

But Timothy Beard, associate civilian cyberspace and information technology career field manager at the Department of the Air Force, said commands are engaging with the process more seriously instead of treating it as paperwork and “making efforts to do that validation at those levels themselves.”