The cybersecurity skills shortage is increasing breaches and making hiring increasingly difficult. Here is what businesses should do now.

The growing shortage of qualified cybersecurity professionals makes it increasingly difficult for businesses to keep their data, critical assets, staff, and customers safe. More complex and frequent cyberattacks have propelled the demand for skilled professionals to help organizations safeguard data and systems. Unfortunately, the cybersecurity industry has been unable to keep up with demand. There are an estimated 3.1 million open positions worldwide.

The gap between the cybersecurity workforce supply and demand has reached a national average ratio of just over two job postings for everyone available cybersecurity professional. Advanced-level certifications (CISA, CISSP, CISM) are the most in demand.

Companies say they also feel the inherent security impact of the skills shortage over the last few years. Organizations confirming five or more breaches jumped by 53 percent between 2021 and 2022. 68 percent of organizations have seen added risks because of cybersecurity skills shortages.

 

Causes of the Cybersecurity Skills Shortage

While the causes of the cybersecurity skills shortage are convoluted and plentiful, three major factors include:

• Attacks are Increasing in Volume and Complexity: Phishing attacks continue to be one of the most prevalent cyberattacks and increased by 48 percent in the first half of last year, while ransomware attacks grew by 41 percent and took 49 days longer to remediate. By all measures, there will be an even more considerable increase in attacks in 2024 with the increasing complications of IoT devices, wearables, and generative AI cybersecurity concerns.

 

• Internal Skills Shortages Go Beyond IT Alone: Cybersecurity and IT staff continue to struggle to control all security vectors alone. Only 32 percent of organizations currently provide adequate training in IT security. Businesses must stretch whatever IT staff they have to cover multiple duties. It is difficult to retain qualified staff amidst such a high demand.

 

• Professional Burnout and Turnover are Rampant: Pressure on cybersecurity experts is immense, and the seriousness of potential damage is only rising. Cybersecurity executives cited the skills shortage as a significant reason for turnover and burnout. Seventy-three percent of CISOs in the U.S. said they had experienced burnout in the past year.

 

Solutions to the Cybersecurity Skills Shortage

As the shortage continues, businesses must face the effects with little to no promise of the situation improving any time soon. Small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) need pragmatic solutions to the issue at hand. Securance Consulting offers innovative services and solutions to help organizations where they need it most at a fraction of the cost.

 

Incident Response Planning

Standardizing security processes can improve efficiency and response times when an incident does occur. Developing a comprehensive incident response plan (IRP) propels cyber readiness initiatives. The IRP should cover how to prepare for, respond to, and recover from security incidents. It should also consider business needs, risk profiles, and industry regulations.

 

Training and Security Culture

Allocating time, energy, and money to train existing employees properly can be just as beneficial as hiring new security professionals. Training for all employees helps redistribute the organization’s security responsibilities. Employees can be your greatest allies in avoiding cyber incidents.

Everyone at your organization has a role in keeping your business safe from cyber-attacks. A culture of security that prioritizes cyber safety and knowledge cannot be underestimated. A top-down leadership focused on cybersecurity can strengthen and engage employees. A more vigorous security culture encourages employees to report issues, avoid scams, and take security seriously.

 

Cybersecurity as a Service (CSaaS)

CSaaS can help businesses to relieve the complexity and cost of staying on top of emerging security threats and developing effective mitigation strategies. With CSaaS, experts customize client solutions to strengthen security posture and provide long-term recommendations for hardening network and system security, user security awareness, and more.

 

vCISO

A Virtual Chief Information Security Officer (vCISO) has the same credentials, knowledge, and expertise as traditional CISOs but work with several companies at once, scaling their efforts to fit the needs and budgets of individual organizations.

 

How Securance Can Help

The demand for cybersecurity is more prevalent than ever due to the evolving threat landscape and increasing difficulty detecting and defending against cyberattacks. At Securance, our senior-level consultants can help accomplish your organization’s specific business and IT goals. Whether your business needs an IT risk management strategy, compliance support, training, or assistance streamlining IT controls, we can help. Contact us today for a free consultation.