Asia-Pacific At Greatest Risk of Cybersecurity Workforce Shortage

We live in a digital world where nothing is safe from criminals anymore. As a result, the cyber security market is growing at its peak. That’s certainly a good news for job seekers who want to work in this buzzing sector.

A “Cybersecurity Workforce Study” by the International Information System Security Certification Consortium (ISC2), the world’s largest nonprofit association of certified cybersecurity professionals, finds that cybersecurity workforce gap has increased to more than 2.9 million globally. The research shows a widening of the global cybersecurity workforce gap to nearly three million across North America, Latin America, Asia-Pacific (APAC), and Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

Workforce Shortage In APAC

Of the 2.93 million overall gaps, the Asia-Pacific region is experiencing the highest shortage, at 2.14 million, in part thanks to its growing economies and new cybersecurity and data privacy legislation being enacted throughout the region.

According to the survey, 63 per cent of respondents report that their organizations have a shortage of IT staff dedicated to cybersecurity. And nearly 60 per cent say their companies are at moderate or extreme risk of cybersecurity attacks due to this shortage. While a substantial number of companies are planning to hire more cybersecurity staff in the next 12 months, almost the same percentage expect either no change in staffing or possibly even a reduction.

The study is based on feedback from a broader, more representative sample of the men and women responsible for securing their organizations around the world. This includes many IT/ICT staff within organizations ranging from large enterprises to small businesses who may or may not have formal cybersecurity roles but do have hands-on responsibility for securing critical assets every day – spending at least 25 per cent of their time on such activities. Their views and opinions create a more realistic representation of the cybersecurity challenges and opportunities the industry faces around the globe.

Lending A Helping Hand

As cybersecurity pros around the globe work to gain and enhance their, organizations can help support these people on the front lines of securing the cyber world.

The report suggests that companies who employ new recruits should explore options available for training them for the job and setting them up for success. They also need to provide more professional development opportunities for the people who already work in cybersecurity— and allow sufficient time for their staff to pursue them.

Investing in current team members can be a highly cost-effective way to shore up cybersecurity skills in an organization. Finally, as they increase their security budgets, companies must portion out those funds mindfully, combining investments in personnel, training and security solutions to create a comprehensive cybersecurity approach that can shrink their piece of the gap, the study concludes.