A few ways to bridge the skill gap in cybersecurity
July 4, 2023 2024-07-12 15:19A few ways to bridge the skill gap in cybersecurity
Introducing the cybersecurity skill gap
As organisations worldwide are currently in a crisis of inadequate cybersecurity talent to meet the skill gap in the industry, Leon Ward, Vice-President of Product Management at ThreatQuotient, focuses on crucial actions that must be taken, to widen their search for skilled cybersecurity professionals.
Recent research has shown that the cybersecurity skill gap has been recognised to be 3.4 million globally when it comes to: why organisations find this deficit because of the lack of knowledge on the subject, lack of budget, compensation wages, and limited opportunities for the growth and promotion of cybersecurity training courses.
What do organisations expect from cybersecurity experts & the real scenario?
The hiring practices in any business are simple – they expect to hire people with experience. But when it comes to cybersecurity industry, organisations face a practical problem while hiring for online security positions. There is a lack of relevant industry knowledge among the existing cybersecurity professionals, making it very hard for companies to recruit them. The question posed before these organisations regarding hiring is, ‘As the loss of finance and reputation is at high-stake, aren’t the ones on the front-line of battle supposed to be the experts who are strong at cyber defence?’ If this is the question, how do we fill this gap in cybersecurity skills to secure our businesses from being exploited? Here are five ways an organisation can lay down a foundation for the future growth of its security teams.
The marketplace has grown exponentially with the evolving technology and the threats that become comprehensive day-by-day alongside them. To stay ahead of the curve, organisations need to build online security teams ready to combat cyber battles with the right set of skills relevant to the industry. To do this, organisations must invest in the skill enhancement of their teams. These skills are relevant not only to the cybersecurity teams but also to all the employees so that they can identify threats and report them faster for the experts to act on them before the damage is huge. Enabling employees to develop baseline technical and cybersecurity skills through several online courses from reputed cybersecurity training course providers can greatly help. Usually, one of the common reasons businesses lose their employees is because of a lack of career growth and when they do not see themselves going anywhere. Upskilling employees will help prevent employee turnover.
Companies can partner with educational institutions to offer placements or run their programmes in-house to bring on talent. Providing internships for individuals who have upskilled themselves can help organizations mitigate risks at the right time and can also help individual gain practical knowledge from the internships. These internships will expose the individuals to a wide range of vulnerability assessments. This is a great way to strengthen organisations to build the right entry-level opportunities individuals.
A report by ThreatQuotient showed that any type of on-the-job experience that focuses on troubleshooting issues and working with customers, such as working on the help desk, translates well into working in cybersecurity. Professionals in service and support roles bring valuable skills, including listening and empathy, as well as troubleshooting and decision-making capabilities, which are important in several areas, including testing, quality assurance (QA) and product development. As it is often evident across the employment market, skills can be taught, but attitude is harder to develop.
Conclusion
Cybersecurity skills are in high demand, and this demand is to be met with the right approach to bridge the gap and enable organisations to secure their businesses from potential cyber threats and attacks. It is high time organisations prioritise staying ahead of the evolving cyber crisis and building teams with industry-relevant cybersecurity skills.
