For four years now, the cybersecurity industry has posted depressing numbers concerning skills shortage. In a recent report by the Information Systems Security Association and Enterprise Strategy Group, the gap is again growing.
A majority of organizations (up to 70%) report that they are affected by this shortage. The organizations say that they have an increased workload in their cybersecurity departments, job openings they’re unable to fill, and inadequate capabilities to utilize existing cybersecurity solutions to the maximum.
45% of the respondents in the surveys say that the situation does not seem to be getting better. They report that in recent years, the skills gap has only grown wider. It would appear that there is no relief in sight at the moment.
Lack of attention
According to the Senior Principal Analyst at ESG, this new report and its predecessors show that key constituents are not paying strategic attention to the sector. There is scattered progress, but each year sees multiple recurring issues.
A big part of the problem is that the professionals needed to alleviate the shortage, do not get the career guidance needed to succeed in the field. A majority of the security staff (68%) who are currently working said that they do not have a clear career path.
Opinions differ slightly
Others said that they lack mentorship opportunities and that eventually limits their options when it comes to recruitment. Businesses fail to account for the amount of time needed to thoroughly train a professional security team.
40% of respondents said that it takes 3-5 years to train someone until they are proficient in cybersecurity, while 18% said that the process is longer than that. The latter said that entry-level staff is not to be seen as a fix to the problem.
According to Candy Alexander, the board president at ISSA International, merely filling the positions with new people is not a solution. Hopefully, things will look up, now that the problems are identified.
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