There's a major lack of qualified cybersecurity workers around

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By Sead Fadilpašić
published

The security skills gap is just getting bigger, report finds

A blue color image of a person trying to log into a protected laptop.
(Image credit: Shutterstock/JARIRIYAWAT)

The cybersecurity industry is facing a crisis, as the workplace skills gap has grown by quite the margin over the last 12 months, new research has claimed.

In 2021, the world lacked the 2.72 million cybersecurity professionals necessary to secure cybersecurity assets - but it has now risen to 3.4 million this year.

(ISC)2's 2022 Cybersecurity Workforce Study, based on a survey of just under 12,000 cybersecurity professionals claims that the workforce gap in the cybersecurity industry has widened year-on-year by more than a quarter (26.2%) as demand keeps on growing. 

Pandemic industry growth

(ISC)2’s CEO Clar Rosso claimed that the issue is partly that the cybersecurity is moving past the hiring slowdown/pause experienced in 2020 and 2021: the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“While we saw the gap decrease during the height of the pandemic, most countries are far advanced in their post-pandemic recoveries and are continuing with digital transformation of a variety of back-office and public-facing functions," he said.

"Hiring and workforce expansion has rebounded in a number of sectors post-pandemic as a result, including cybersecurity, delivering both the growth in the active workforce, as well as growth in the unfulfilled demand for cybersecurity practitioners." 

"It is also encouraging, as the gap demonstrates increased awareness from organizations of the value of cybersecurity within their operations.”

The report also found that almost three-quarters (72%) of organizations expect their team to grow either somewhat, or significantly, within the next year. That's in line with the overall trend of growth in hiring (11%).

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“The fact the workforce grew by 11%, some 464,000 is cause for celebration. Adding nearly half a million people to the active workforce is a significant investment in cyber safety and defense,” Rosso continued.

While the lack of a qualified workforce is the number one cause for workforce gap (43%), it’s far from being the only problem. (ISC)2 also cited businesses struggling to keep up with turnover, low wages, lack of budget, lack of promotion opportunities, insufficient training, burnout, work culture and conditions - including remote working - all play a major role.

Via: Infosecurity

Sead Fadilpašić
Sead Fadilpašić

Sead is a seasoned freelance journalist based in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He writes about IT (cloud, IoT, 5G, VPN) and cybersecurity (ransomware, data breaches, laws and regulations). In his career, spanning more than a decade, he’s written for numerous media outlets, including Al Jazeera Balkans. He’s also held several modules on content writing for Represent Communications.