Christy expects that a couple of hundred of this year's attendees will be recruited by federal agencies, but no one is recruiting more aggressively than the Air Force. "The Air Force has always been the leader in this area," he said.

Convertino's efforts reflect a government-wide effort to step up cyber-security recruiting. On Monday, the DoD co-sponsored an effort to recruit 10,000 young computer through a series of cyber-contests, known as the

In an interview, Convertino said that by next year many of his recruits will have completed the hiring process and will be able to attend the conference and encourage others to enlist.

The federal government has long had a hard time attracting and keeping top computer security talent, even at the very top.

Although the Obama administration created a new high level cyber security advisor position earlier this year, it remains unfilled. According to a Forbes Magazine the job has already been turned down by several qualified candidates.