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Filling the skills gap in cyber security remains a challenge

Identifying security professionals who are truly qualified to safeguard corporate assets is becoming a challenge

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Soma Tah
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MUMBAI, INDIA: Identifying security professionals who are truly qualified to safeguard corporate assets is becoming a challenge.

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“The aggressive increase in cyberattacks worldwide is feeding a growing chasm between demand and supply in the cybersecurity talent wars,” said Eddie Schwartz, international vice president of ISACA and president and COO of WhiteOps.

The 2016 Cybersecurity Snapshot by global IT and cybersecurity association, ISACA reveals that the cybersecurity skills gap continues to pose a significant obstacle to organizations seeking to expand their cyber workforce.

Close to half (45%) of those surveyed worldwide report that they are hiring more cybersecurity professionals in 2016, yet 94% of those hiring say it will be difficult to find skilled candidates. Identifying who has adequate skills and knowledge will also be difficult, say more than six in 10 survey participants.

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Close to two-thirds (63%) of global IT professionals oppose giving governments backdoor access to encrypted information systems, and similar numbers (59%) feel that privacy is being compromised in an effort to implement stronger cybersecurity laws.

“Cybersecurity has become a high-stakes, boardroom-level issue that can have crippling consequences for any C-suite executive who lacks knowledge about the issues and risks. Strong public-private collaboration and ongoing knowledge-sharing are needed to safeguard our organizations from cybercriminals,” said Christos Dimitriadis, international president of ISACA.

The three threats that global IT and security professionals are most concerned about for their organization this year are:

  1. Social engineering (52%)
  2. Insider threats (40%)
  3. Advanced persistent threats (APT) (39%)

These items outranked options frequently associated with cyberattacks, including malware, unpatched systems and distributed denial-of-service attacks.

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