Virtually everyone above the age of five should be concerned about the current state of cybersecurity. The projected global cybersecurity workforce shortage in 2021 exceeds 1.5 million, leaving less than three years to dramatically narrow the gap.
Security threats affect every facet of professional and personal data, targeting programs and networks through unauthorized access and/or damage.
Security breaches demonstrate blatant disrespect for the property of others, yet an IT security talent shortage is ever present. A significant cause of unfilled positions is the failure of businesses to think outside the box when identifying skills and training for prospective positions.
A college degree in computer science is not the only way to identify today’s IT threats. Organizations and leaders must come to the realization that there is a gap and they may not be able to recruit someone with 5+ years of skills that match perfectly with their environment.
“It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout.”Merry Joe
After that realization sinks in, a plausible answer for filling cybersecurity positions with effective personnel is recruiting employees with diverse backgrounds. Their skills and knowledge create new ideas for fighting current hazards and stopping new security gaps before they occur.
Creative ways to overcome the cybersecurity shortage
Leaders may be surprised at how many capable IT professionals are itching to gain experience in the space. Developing an effective training program can be challenging but there are many ways to pull it off.
Pay for these individuals to get certified, take courses, and attend security conferences – many individuals are willing to do this in addition to their day job.
Revisit your job descriptions
Take time to do research on job board aggregators like indeed.com or google jobs to see if there are more trendy job titles.
For example, if you looking for a cybersecurity analyst to do IDS/IPS, type a boolean search within indeed such as:
(“intrusion detection” OR “ids” OR “ips”)
You may find that using a job title like Threat Hunter may be more trendy than Cybersecurity Analyst. Making simple adjustments like this to your job postings can help your company look more innovative and could result in higher quality candidates.