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6 CFR § 158.104 - Definitions.

---
identifier: "/us/cfr/t6/s158.104"
source: "ecfr"
legal_status: "authoritative_unofficial"
title: "6 CFR § 158.104 - Definitions."
title_number: 6
title_name: "Domestic Security"
section_number: "158.104"
section_name: "Definitions."
chapter_name: "DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY"
part_number: "158"
part_name: "CYBERSECURITY TALENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (CTMS)"
positive_law: false
currency: "2026-04-05"
last_updated: "2026-04-05"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
authority: "Subpart H also issued under 5 U.S.C. Chapters 41 and 43; 5 CFR parts 410 and 430."
regulatory_source: "86 FR 47893, Aug. 26, 2021, unless otherwise noted."
cfr_part: "158"
---

# 158.104 Definitions.

As used in this part:

*Additional compensation* means the compensation described in § 158.603(c).

*Advisory appointment* means an appointment to a qualified position under subpart J of this part.

*Annuitant* has the same meaning as that term in 5 CFR 553.102.

*Anticipated mission impact* means the influence the Department anticipates an individual will have on execution of the DHS cybersecurity mission based on the individual's *CTMS qualifications* and application of those qualifications to successfully and proficiently perform *DHS-CS cybersecurity work.*

*Assignment* means a description of a specific subset of *DHS-CS cybersecurity work* and a specific subset of *CTMS qualifications* necessary to perform that work, the combination of which is associable with a qualified position.

*Break in service* means the time when an employee is no longer on the payroll of a Federal agency.

*Continuing appointment* means an appointment for an indefinite time period to a qualified position.

*CTMS policy* means the Department's decisions implementing and operationalizing the regulations in this part, and includes directives, instructions, and operating guidance and procedures.

*CTMS qualifications* means *qualifications* identified under § 158.402(c).

*Cybersecurity incident* has the same meaning as the term “incident” in 6 U.S.C. 659.

*Cybersecurity risk* has the same meaning as that term in 6 U.S.C. 659.

*Cybersecurity Talent Management Board* or *CTMB* means the group of officials described in § 158.302.

*Cybersecurity Talent Management System* or *CTMS* means the approach to talent management, which encompasses the definitions, processes, systems, and programs, established under this part.

*Cybersecurity talent market* means the availability, in terms of supply and demand, of talent relating to cybersecurity and employment relating to cybersecurity, including at other Federal agencies such as the Department of Defense.

*Cybersecurity threat* has the same meaning as that term in 6 U.S.C. 1501(5).

*Cybersecurity work* means activity involving mental or physical effort, or both, to achieve results relating to cybersecurity.

*Department* or *DHS* means the Department of Homeland Security.

*DHS cybersecurity mission* means the cybersecurity mission described in § 158.201. As stated in that section, the DHS cybersecurity mission encompasses all responsibilities of the Department relating to cybersecurity.

*DHS Cybersecurity Service* or *DHS-CS* means the qualified positions designated and established under this part and the employees appointed to those positions under this part.

*DHS-CS advisory appointee* means a DHS-CS employee serving in an advisory appointment under this part.

*DHS-CS cybersecurity work* means *cybersecurity work* identified under § 158.402(b).

*DHS-CS employee* means an *employee* serving in a qualified position under this part.

*Employee* has the same meaning as that term in 5 U.S.C. 2105.

*Excepted service* has the same meaning as that term in 5 U.S.C. 2103.

*Executive Schedule* means the pay levels described in 5 U.S.C. 5311.

*Former DHS-CS employee* means an individual who previously served, but is not currently serving, in a qualified position.

*Functions* has the same meaning as that term in 6 U.S.C. 101(9).

*Mission impact* means a DHS-CS employee's influence on execution of the DHS cybersecurity mission by applying the employee's CTMS qualifications to successfully and proficiently perform DHS-CS cybersecurity work.

*Mission-related requirements* means characteristics of an individual's expertise or characteristics of cybersecurity work, or both (including cybersecurity talent market-related information), that are associated with successful execution of the DHS cybersecurity mission, and that are determined by officials with appropriate decision-making authority.

*Preference eligible* has the same meaning as that term in 5 U.S.C. 2108.

*Qualification* means a quality of an individual that correlates with the successful and proficient performance of cybersecurity work, such as capability, experience and training, and education and certification. A capability is a cluster of interrelated attributes that is measurable or observable or both. Interrelated attributes include knowledge, skills, abilities, behaviors, and other characteristics.

*Qualified position* means *CTMS qualifications* and *DHS-CS cybersecurity work,* the combination of which is associable with an employee.

*Renewable appointment* means a time-limited appointment to a qualified position.

*Salary* means an annual rate of pay under this part and is basic pay for purposes under 5 U.S.C. and 5 CFR. The salary for a DHS-CS employee is described in § 158.603.

*Secretary* means the Secretary of Homeland Security.

*Secretary or designee* means the *Secretary* or an official or group of officials authorized to act for the Secretary in the matter concerned.

*Strategic talent priorities* means the priorities for CTMS and the DHS-CS set under § 158.304.

*Supervisor* means an *employee* of the Department who has authority to hire, direct, assign, promote, reward, transfer, furlough, layoff, recall, suspend, discipline, or remove employees, or to effectively recommend such actions. A supervisor for a DHS-CS employee may be a DHS-CS employee or may be an employee of the Department serving in a position outside the DHS-CS.

*Talent management* means a systematic approach to linking employees to mission and organizational goals through intentional strategies and practices for hiring, compensating, and developing employees.

*Talent management action* has the same meaning as the term *personnel action* in 5 U.S.C. 2302(a)(2) for applicable actions, and the terms *talent management action* and *personnel action* may be used interchangeably in this part.

*Veteran* has the same meaning as that term in 5 U.S.C. 2108.

*Work level* means a grouping of *CTMS qualifications* and *DHS-CS cybersecurity work* with sufficiently similar characteristics to warrant similar treatment in talent management under this part.

*Work valuation* means a methodology through which an organization defines and evaluates the value of work and the value of individuals capable of performing that work.