Intel Security, in partnership with the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), recently released ‘Hacking the Skills Shortage’, a report outlining the talent shortage crisis impacting the cybersecurity industry across both companies and nations.
A majority of respondents (82 percent) admit to a shortage of cybersecurity skills, with 71 percent of respondents citing this shortage as responsible for direct and measurable damage to organisations whose lack of talent makes them more desirable hacking targets.
“A shortage of people with cybersecurity skills results in direct damage to companies, including the loss of proprietary data and IP,” said James Lewis, senior vice president and director, Strategic Technologies Program, CSIS. “This is a global problem; a majority of respondents in all countries surveyed could link their workforce shortage to damage to their organisation.”
Despite one in four respondents confirming their organisations have lost proprietary data as a result of their cybersecurity skills gap, there are no signs of this workforce shortage abating in the near-term. Respondents surveyed estimate an average of 15 percent of cybersecurity positions in their company will go unfilled by 2020.
“The security industry has talked at length about how to address the storm of hacks and breaches, but government and the private sector haven’t brought enough urgency to solving the cybersecurity talent shortage,” said Raj Samani, VP & CTO, EMEA, Intel Security. “To address this workforce crisis, we need to foster new education models, accelerate the availability of training opportunities, and we need to deliver deeper automation so that talent is put to its best use on the frontline. Finally, we absolutely must diversify our ranks.”
