"I frankly can't imagine a place where that would be a greater concern than the NSA," Robert Storch told the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Large systems integrators turn out to be the government contractors with the best track record in recruiting and retaining a technically skilled cybersecurity workforce, the SANS Institute found.

The leak comes as an independent report on the Hal Martin incident is nearing completion.

Federal agencies pay an average of $7,000 a year less to cybersecurity personnel than their private sector counterparts, so they need to offer training and other benefits and recruit more from overlooked groups like women and minorities.

Major military contractors have seen stock prices rise as much as 20 percent since the election.

Federal procurement of cybersecurity goods and services is highly fragmented, according to new research published this week, but despite this long tail of small awards, the market space is dominated by a handful of familiar names.