Cybersecurity topped the list of skill-area deficiencies for a fourth straight year in a recent survey by Enterprise Strategy Group, an information-technology research firm. Of IT pros responding to the survey, 53% indicated their organizations had “problematic” shortages of cybersecurity talent. That’s up a bit from 51% last year, and it’s the highest level since ESG began the survey four years ago.
A pair of professors has recommended preparing more high school students for cybersecurity careers by offering advanced classes and practical training. So reports The Washington Post.
Pennsylvania College of Technology computer science professors Jacob Miller and Sandra Gorka were due to pitch the plan this month at an annual hacker conference in Washington, D.C. “By the time kids reach college they’ve often decided what they want to do for a career,” Miller said. “You need to get them interested in cybersecurity at an earlier age.”
In the shorter-term, some employers are using contests to seek out new talent. One is example, notes CSO, is Cyber Security Challenge UK, a series of competitions and other events meant to draw more people into cybersecurity careers.
Meanwhile, Tesla is offering one of its electric Model 3 sedans as a prize to researchers who expose the car’s cybersecurity vulnerabilities, reports Fortune.
Other initiatives try to attract underrepresented groups into the profession. The free, woman-only Blackhoodie conference aims to introduce more gender diversity to the traditionally male-dominated information security space, notes Forbes. Elsewhere, Ernst and Young cybersecurity Evelyn Kilel told TechWeez she co-founded the all-female She Hacks Kenya community “to give women in cybersecurity a platform where they could interact, learn, network as well assist those with an objective of joining this industry.”
The dearth of information security talent is a perennial concern. In October, certification organization ISC2 estimated a shortfall of almost 3 million cybersecurity professionals worldwide. That includes 500,000 positions in the United States.
As long ago as 2017, Gartner senior research analyst Sam Olyaei said, “If you’re a cybersecurity professional with any kind of skill set, you already have a job and multiple offers on the table.”