There’s never been a better time to get into the cyber security industry, with a 1.5m shortfall of people in the sector expected by 2020, contributing to a rise in salaries for those working there, but also meaning an inability to fill posts and an ageing workforce.
The seventh Global Information Security Workforce study from ISC, the not-for-profit membership body for security professionals, found that 62% of respondents said their organisations have too few security professionals, despite having budgets to employ more people.
The estimated 1.5m staff shortfall, forecast by conductors of the survey Frost & Sullivan, is also blamed on the increasing sophistication of cyber threats, plus the growing abundance of systems that need to be secured.
“Our first workforce study was conducted in 2004 to illuminate critical concerns within information and cybersecurity that were struggling for attention,” said Dr. Adrian Davis, managing director, EMEA at ISC. “The 2015 report shows that many of these issues are finally getting much needed budget and priority. Unfortunately, we are now facing new challenges and our skills and staffing challenge is growing.
“Year after year, the study has shown a workforce shortage; but now, we’re finding that the shortage is being compounded with issues that are becoming more prevalent, such as configuration mistakes and oversights that can be detrimental to the security posture of global businesses.
The ISC surveyed some 13,000 people in the cyber security industry. The full report can be found here.