Posts tagged "cyber-security career"

Are we facing a workforce crisis in the Cyber Security sector?

The employment situation – or should we say lack of – on the cybersecurity front seems somewhat dramatic if you look at it through the lens of statistics.

Even though cyber attacks on businesses are steadily increasing, and the number of data breach victims are constantly rising every year.

What could possibly be at fault for the tremendous shortage of skilled professionals!? We need to answer whether the market is going through a crisis in talents or companies that offer such positions struggle for different reasons.

ISACA (Information Systems Audit and Control Association) conducted a survey among hiring organizations to find out how long it takes them, on average, to fill in a cyber-security/information security position.

Long-term vacancies are the more accurate term

The survey brings to light the hard time enterprises appear to have when recruiting specialists for cybersecurity or information security positions.

The majority of companies surveyed admitted that it takes them 3 to 6 months to find proper candidates. A hire in less than a month is only reported by one in 10 employers. All the while, approximately 6% of the respondents say they are unable to fill these positions.

ISACA offers various certifications in the cybersecurity sector for professionals who want to level-up their career path. The demand for skilled individuals is very high and the need to attract new talents is continuously increasing.

Another survey performed by the ESG on the state of IT highlights the steady growth of cybersecurity professionals seen over the years. as we can see, the percentage of companies reporting a cybersecurity skills shortage has almost doubled in just five years

  • 2014: 23 percent of respondents said their organization had a problematic shortage of cybersecurity skills
  • 2015: 25 percent of respondents said their organization had a problematic shortage of cybersecurity skills
  • 2016: 46 percent of respondents said their organization had a problematic shortage of cybersecurity skills
  • 2017: 45 percent of respondents said their organization had a problematic shortage of cybersecurity skills
  • 2018: 51 percent of respondents said their organization had a problematic shortage of cybersecurity skills

One of the most in-demand cybersecurity roles is security analyst, Security analysts work to prevent and mitigate breaches on the ground. Another hot job is security manager. Security managers develop and implement overarching processes to keep information private. To get as a job as a security manager the applicant will probably need a professional certification to be considered for such a role, like a CISM (Certified Information Security Manager) or CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional).

You would think people would be running toward a career with almost-guaranteed job security. However, very few people are entering the cybersecurity field.

But there is a way out of this. Here are three areas you can start working on:

  • Ongoing training and clear career paths
  • Adopt new education models – Education can be more exciting through hands-on training, hackathons, and gaming. The Intel Security survey found that hackathons were a great way to identify talent and develop skills
  • Diversify the industry –  Cybersecurity is currently a male-dominated industry. Another option to increase the number of cybersecurity professionals is to make it more attractive to women and minorities, this way you will also widen the talent pool.