6 Ways to Overcome the Cyber Security Skills Gap

With the ever-growing complexity of cyber-attacks, it’s essential to have highly skilled security professionals in your organization. If you’re still looking for an expert in cybersecurity, you’re not the only one. The shortage of cybersecurity experts is widespread, and just like you, many other people are also facing this issue.

The shortage of cybersecurity experts is a topic that has been addressed previously. It’s a problem every business has faced for some time, and it’s becoming more severe. There are many ideas regarding reducing the gap. However, until now, all efforts have proved futile. Let’s examine what’s causing the gap and what can be done to close it, and then we’ll discuss the most efficient ways to combat the deficiency of cybersecurity expertise.

Cybercriminals continue to become creative and use more sophisticated tools available to bypass the cyber security of organizations -and businesses are becoming concerned. According to the C-suite’s playbook by PwC regarding privacy and cyber security, The top 2023 list of threats to organizations’ security are:

Cybercriminal activity: 65%

Hacktivist/hacker: 48%

Insider risk (current/past employee or contractor) 44 percent

Why The Cybersecurity Skills Shortage?

Cyberthreats were ranked among the top four dangers to growth prospects for businesses in the 2018 survey of CEOs conducted by PwC. The rise to the fourth position was an increase of six spots over the previous year. It’s certainly not the last time we’ve had only—five threats “availability of key competencies,” and the no. Six’s “speed of technological evolution” is pertinent to the increasing concern of CEOs.

However, there is a gap between demand and supply. The reason for this is many reasons:

Cyber threats are growing exponentially, leading to an increase in the demand for people with the skills, experience, and talent.
Insisting on a constant under-investment in training and education
Market disalignment
Outsourcing is a threat to internal skills development.
Insufficient self-marketing

Alternative Ways That Companies Can Fill in the Gaps

1. Employee Training

Finding skilled employees for IT personnel is undoubtedly the ideal scenario for any business. However, it’s only sometimes possible. The company must start by looking at candidates who can be trained to complete the required tasks.

Businesses must build their cybersecurity base. This requires extensive training. Only those with a deep knowledge of standards and compliance and the complete security process can help create, maintain and maintain the solid security framework your business requires.

A recent Forbes story, “3 Ways To Bridge the Tech Skills Gap In 2022,” mentions three companies that have designed reskilling courses to help employees interested in exploring different opportunities within the company.

RedTeam Security, for example, it offers Social Engineering along with Red Team training courses. This Red Team course guides students through a complete Red Team Operation from the stage of planning to reports.

2. Work with universities to develop the next generation of talent

The cybersecurity field is highly specialized, and there is a shortage of skills throughout the spectrum, from entry-level jobs to senior positions. It’s an excellent idea to work with higher-education institutions and recruit talent straight after graduation.

Conduct competitions and tests to determine students with interest in IT security. You can help students by providing them with grants, internships, and apprenticeships. Help them acquire the necessary skills and inspire students to consider pursuing a career in cybersecurity within your organization.

In focusing on hiring students from four-year colleges and technology programs, the business needs to take into account the diverse abilities and perspectives that people with diverse backgrounds could provide.

IBM is a prime example. IBM has been working to identify the most important traits that aren’t possible to teach in a classroom, such as “unbridled enthusiasm, a determination to solve problems, solid ethics, and a keen awareness of risks.”

The advantages of securing interns who complete a range of IT-related tasks allow full-time senior IT professionals to concentrate on more challenging tasks and tasks. Shopify has perfected the internship process for many years. The VP of engineering at Shopify, Farhan Thawar, shares business owners with tips on how to create an effective internship program. You can learn more about the SaaStr Podcast, episode #427, “How to Create a Successful Intern program from scratch using Shopify.”

3. Train your current IT personnel in cybersecurity

Examine whether any of your current staff members from your IT department are particularly interested and can assume an IT security role. Please participate in the certification of qualified members of Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC), Certified Information Security Manager (CISM), and other certifications similar to these [5] to enable them to obtain the necessary qualification.

This realistic cyber security training and education method will cost less than hiring fresh talent.

To ensure that they retain this diverse group of cybersecurity specialists, companies have found that upskilling both soft and hard abilities — is the most efficient way to close the gap in skills.

Ninety-three percent of companies implementing upskilling or reskilling programs have seen an increase in productivity, improved employee retention and engagement, and more resilient employees.

4. Identify Cybersecurity Threats

Your employees are a valuable resource, but they can be a security risk. You might consider the following:

Are your employees overworked? If so, they could make mistakes that can cause security issues.

Do your businesses operate located in deep silos? Lack of communication within the company could pose a threat to enterprise-wide security.

Are the roles and responsibilities clearly defined? If IT and non-IT staff work together, IT and non-IT employees are responsible for security, which could result in the absence of coordination as well as solid governance.

5. Retired hands and veterans can be hired.

Another approach to combat the workforce shortage in cybersecurity is recruiting veteran professionals with experience in the security technology field. The salary they will earn will likely be lower than the ones employed today. You can hire them as consultants, or on a contract or part-time basis, based on what is best for each party.

6. Make sure your employees are happy and decrease the rate of attrition.

Finding the right cyber talent can be challenging, and losing your current team is something other than what you’d like to happen. Stress, burnout, and more chances are among the primary reasons that cybersecurity professionals leave their job. Give career-building opportunities, a balanced work-life, and other benefits and perks to satisfy your security staff and help them stay longer at your business.

Conclusion

Cyber-attacks are constantly evolving. Companies should rethink their long-standing views about training and create programs based on people-functional, business-driven, and function-specific. ProEdge is a PwC product that provides the most innovative training from various suppliers. Through techniques like games and simulations coupled with courses and information that are updated when new threats are discovered, students can apply their newly acquired skills to tackle real-time issues and create tangible business results.