Leading anti-virus software maker Symantec Corp is warning of a shortage of experienced security experts in the United States, which makes it difficult for companies to recruit qualified staff to protect their networks, according to an article from Reuters and CNBC.

Symantec Corp Chief Executive Enrique Salem said that his company is working with the U.S. military, other government agencies and universities to help develop new programs to train security professionals, the article says.

"We don't have enough security professionals and that's a big issue. What I would tell you is it's going to be a bigger issue from a national security perspective than people realize," he said at the Reuters Media and Technology summit in New York on Tuesday.

The National Security Agency is also setting up a new cyber-ops program at certain universities to expand U.S. cyber expertise needed for secret intelligence operations against computer networks of adversaries, according to Reuters. The cyber-ops curriculum is geared to providing students with the basic education for jobs in intelligence, military and law enforcement.

Salem's comments echo those of other technology industry executives who have complained that U.S. universities do not produce enough math and science graduates, the article says, as well as the UK banking industry, which already “can’t find enough security professionals.”