People keep innovating new technology by each day. As it sounds promising to assist life on Earth, this also paves a huge threat; cybersecurity threat is looming in the corner. A life that cannot be separated from the network and the connection that keeps being connected also paves a need to have many cybersecurity staff ready to battle against cyber threats.
Let’s start this piece with a quote from Caroline Vignollet, an SVP of research and development at OneSpan. She said, “I believe the cybersecurity talent gap will remain an ongoing challenge in 2023.” What is going on in the cybersecurity industry right now?
The demand.
Perhaps there is one keyword to explain this messy problem that could threaten so many organizations and companies around the globe: demand. The demand for cybersecurity workers is so high, yet there is a shortage. The 2022 Cybersecurity Workforce Study by ISC2 stated that the shortage extended to 3.42 million, with a workforce gap in Singapore reaching 6,071.
Although there is a tremendous demand, there is also a lack of capability to fulfill the need. The current-employed cybersecurity workers expressed their opinion that there is a lack of interest from fresh graduates. The lack of students’ interest in STEM major and the lack of acceptable skills in math and science also contributes to this shortage.
The situation becomes worse when some roles in the field required a worker to have a professional certification, that at least, needs five years of experience or so.
The unrealistic expectations.
This whole shortage catastrophe cannot be fully blamed upon the young people. Corporates and organizations are also as guilty as they charged the fresh graduates. Most of the cybersecurity vacancies are looking for so many things in one person. An applicator needs to be able to have so many skills under one title.
Those organizations and companies are looking for magic from fresh graduates, while the reality is that fresh graduates lack adequate-advance skills. It is important to remember that skills can also be taught outside of university. Experience handling projects in a job or during an internship can be one of the factors to look into when recruiting a fresh graduate.
So what is the problem?
Vailshery, a research expert in the electronics industry said that currently 60% of corporate data is stored in the cloud as of 2022. The world has changed, not only on the surface level but, in practical appliances too.
The shortage of cybersecurity workers will pose a threat to those data. And that does not only create a problem for the company through data leak issues but only through its customers’ loyalty problem. With the surge in cybersecurity awareness, customers value privacy now, and they want to know what companies will do to their data: a photo they submitted, the address and phone number they wrote, and so on.
Companies or organizations without enough capacity to hire sufficient cybersecurity workers will experience obstacles to protecting their data, especially in the age where cyber threats are becoming more serious.
The immense requirements for cybersecurity job vacancies that create a shortage in this field will also create a socio-economic problem that will lead to unemployment issues.
What should we do?
There are so many ways to resolve the cybersecurity shortage problems. Here are a few ways that need to be put on a focus to help ease the problem:
- Companies should lower their expectations
The high expectations that companies put are hurting the industry and are leading to the current shortage of cybersecurity workers. Instead of worrying that a worker might not fit with their expectations, companies should accept and train them with experiences, and observe their growth and potential. Companies can also offer internships to train college students, and see where they are going or if they fit into the companies in the near future.
- Employees should equip themselves with adequate certifications & skills
Never stop learning, even if it means you already finished university. Employees, fresh graduates, whoever they are, should do online courses to enrich their knowledge or study new skills that can make their CV and portfolio look more engaging to companies.
- Companies should support and protect their cybersecurity team
Instead of looking for other people, companies should start looking at their teams. Take care of the internal cybersecurity team by asking them what they need and what they want from the company. Give them sufficient training too so their skills can be pushed further. This action will give mutual benefit to both parties.
Read our other works:
• Small Business Should Pay More Attention to Cybersecurity
• ACSI’s Guide to Cybersecurity Incident Response Plan
• Which One Do You Need, VPN or DNS?
References:
• https://www.cybersecuritydive.com/news/cybersecurity-talent-gap-worker-shortage/639724/
• https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2023/03/01/why-overcoming-the-cybersecurity-labor-shortage-matters-to-company-success/?sh=74f2ca27766b
• https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/tip/Cybersecurity-skills-gap-Why-it-exists-and-how-to-address-it
