Workforce Shortage Impacts 85% of Organizations’ Cybersecurity Posture

Trellix has conducted new research into the talent shortage afflicting the cybersecurity industry. Among the key findings, 85 percent of those surveyed believe the workforce shortage is impacting their organizations’ abilities to secure increasingly complex information systems and networks. Of the current workforce, 30 percent plan to change professions in the future.

Bryan Palma, CEO, Trellix said in a statement that the industry is already 2.72 million people short1. Cultivating and nurturing a cybersecurity workforce for the future requires expanding who we view as talent and changing the practices across the public and private sectors. Closing the cybersecurity talent gap is not only a business imperative but important to national security and daily lives. We need to remove barriers to entry, actively work to inspire people to do soulful work and ensure those in the field are retained.

The findings are based on a Vanson Bourne survey, commissioned by Trellix, of 1,000 cybersecurity professionals in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Japan, the U.K and the U.S. across a variety of sectors.

More Education is Needed. As threats from nation-state actors and cybercriminals grow in volume and sophistication, the worldwide shortage of cybersecurity professionals grows as well. While some countries like Russia and China invest deeply in nurturing cybersecurity talent through state-funded education, many nations are without dedicated programs. Trellix sought to understand education levels and found over half (56 percent) believe that degrees aren’t needed for a successful career in cybersecurity. The survey also found:

• Support for the development of skills (85 percent) and the pursuit of certifications (80 percent) were selected as highly or extremely important factors for the industry to expand the workforce.
• Employers could be doing more to encourage community mentoring programs with a presence in K-12 schools (94 percent).
• Areas most likely to attract people to cybersecurity included efforts to promote the soulfulness of cybersecurity careers (43 percent), encouragement of STEM students considering cybersecurity careers (41 percent), and more financial support for students in cybersecurity career paths (39 percent).

Diversity Drives Better Outcomes. The cybersecurity experts surveyed are 78 percent male, 64 percent white, and 89 percent straight, with a substantial majority (91 percent) believing that more efforts should be made to broaden the cybersecurity talent pool. Respondents cited inclusivity and equality for women (79 percent), diversity of the cybersecurity workforce (77 percent), and pay gaps between different demographic groups (72 percent) as highly or extremely important factors for the industry to address in order to encourage more people to consider a career in cybersecurity. Additional findings include:

• Most respondents (92 percent) believe greater mentorship, internships, and apprenticeships would support the participation of workers from diverse backgrounds in cybersecurity roles.
• 85 percent believe individuals are discouraged from entering the profession simply because they lack perspective into the field’s various potential roles and opportunities for upward mobility.
• 94 percent of those surveyed believe their employers could be doing more to consider employees from non-traditional cybersecurity backgrounds and 45 percent report having previously worked in other careers.

Cybersecurity is Soulful Work. The survey found the vast majority (94 percent) believe the role of those working in cybersecurity is greater now than ever before and a similar amount (92 percent) report cybersecurity as purposeful, soulful work that motivates them. However, cybersecurity professionals are hungry for recognition, with 36 percent noting they feel a lack of acknowledgment for the good done for society. Of those looking to leave the field, 12 percent say it is due to a lack of feeling appreciated. The survey discovered:

• More than half (52 percent) report working within cybersecurity because it’s progressive, evolving and they enjoy exploring challenging new trends.
• 41 percent report cybersecurity is continuously growing in relevancy and roles will always be accessible as a reason for staying in the profession.
• Around one in five (19 percent) note they value doing something to help society for the greater good.

On Tuesday, June 7, Trellix CEO Bryan Palma will deliver a keynote, “Soulless to Soulful: Security’s Chance to Save Tech,” at the RSA Conference in San Francisco, Calif. Palma will address the growing cybersecurity talent gap while providing recommendations to build a larger, stronger cybersecurity workforce. RSA Conference attendees can attend the address at 10:50 a.m. PDT at the Moscone Convention Center West Hall, others can view virtually or on-demand.

The talent gap survey follows the release of Trellix’s In the Crosshairs: According to the Organizations and Nation-State Cyber Threats research, the most significant obstacle to guarding against nation-state cyber threats is a lack of cybersecurity skills. Trellix also recently released Path to Cyber Readiness – Preparation, Perception, and Partnership, which said that 49 percent of U.S. government agencies considered their internal cyber security skills inadequate.