The big cybersecurity challenges of securing an organisation and building resilience are compounded by difficulties in finding and retaining cybersecurity staff: 67% of global leaders in IT and cyber concerned about this skills gap. What’s worse: the shortage is actively hurting the security and resilience of companies:
- Globally, 80% of organisations suffered at least one breach that could be attributed to a shortfall in cybersecurity skills or awareness.
- The hardest roles to fill in cybersecurity are cloud security (57%), security operations (50%), network security (49%) and software development security (42%).
(Fortinet 2022 cybersecurity skills gap study)
- The majority of those surveyed believe that certified staff have heightened cybersecurity knowledge and enhanced job performance. Certification is a priority when hiring, while 91% are willing to pay for their employees to undergo certification and bolster their skillsets.
- Diversity is also an important consideration for organisations in the hiring process. 75% of organisations surveyed have set explicit goals for hiring more women, and 59% for hiring more minorities.
Why does this matter for businesses?
- Lack of skilled cybersecurity people is hampering the security and resilience of companies. Hiring top talent is of course pivotal to an organisation’s security - to protect your company from unprecedented threats, you need a team with the right skills and latest knowledge. But in tandem with hiring, businesses should also look inward and evaluate how they can upskill and certify their existing employees, developing cyber knowledge across all staff, even those in non-technical roles.
