The Skills Gap in Cyber Security is Increasing
Cyber security has a continually growing skills gap within organisations and the security industry itself
CyberEdge’s 2018 Cyberthreat Defense Report found that four out of five organisations can’t find qualified staff to fill cyber security positions.
The report states: “Individuals with non-technical previous careers often rise to become key decision makers in their organizations: globally, 33% of executives and C-Suite professionals began in a previous non-technical career.”
It adds: “It will be important, if not essential, to consider the relevant educational foundations, training and professional development opportunities that support the breadth of people with potential to enter the field in order to fill the worker shortage.”
This skills shortage is also felt within organisations
The technology research firm Gartner found that over two-thirds of enterprise leaders believe that their companies need to become digital to remain competitive in the new marketplace but the skills gap within workforces is a stumbling block.
The report highlighted that employees have not mastered the skills that they need for their current jobs. 80% don’t have the skills for their future roles. 64% of HR directors don’t believe workers can keep pace with the demands of the digital future.
To move into the digital landscape, this is a skills gap that needs to be bridged. This is especially true of cyber security. Unless your employees have the right knowledge, your organisation could be left vulnerable to malicious attacks.
Cyber security is everyone’s responsibility
Cyber security should not be relegated to IT teams or security teams; it can affect anyone. A skills gap within your workforce could result in failure to recognise a phishing attack, the effects of which could be felt throughout the business.
Suffering a cyber attack can cause customers to lose trust in a business and spend their money elsewhere. Additionally, having a reputation for poor security can also lead to a failure to gain new customers.
All data, whether that be customer databases, employee files, financial information or even specific contracts, plans and correspondence, holds value for cyber criminals.
By practising and promoting basic cyber hygiene throughout your business whilst educating staff, you can take the first steps to bridging this digital skills gap.
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