According to Cybersecurity Ventures, there will be an estimated 3.5 million unfilled cybersecurity jobs in 2021. In the United States, there are over 715,000 employees with 314,000 unfilled positions.
Not only are the millions of unfilled cybersecurity jobs, but there are more people committing cybercrime, and these numbers continue to rise. The different ways cybercriminals are committing crimes continue to escalate. Businesses and organizations are struggling to find ways to combat the problem, especially when it comes to staying a step ahead of cybercriminals.
Why Are Some MSPs Struggling to Find Top-Notch Cybersecurity Professionals?
While the majority of MSPs offer cybersecurity services, many of them are trying to push through a shortage of qualified team members, which can result in their customers being at a greater risk of ransomware attacks. If MSPs do not have a fully-staffed cybersecurity team, this will lead to problems as it relates to the protection of its customers.
Cybersecurity services can benefit MSPs in a variety of ways, but many MSPs are not able to properly implement and administer these services due to the shortage of cybersecurity professionals. For some service providers, it has become increasingly difficult to add cybersecurity services to their portfolios.
While some MSPs do offer these services, it is not enough to just include them in the list of services provided. MSPs need to have the right staff on hand to spring into action immediately if an issue occurs. One ransomware attack can significantly impact a business’s reputation and future relationships with its customers.
For many MSPs, they are aware that cybersecurity is critical to their customers’ operational continuity. This means protection from cyber threats and cyber attacks will continue to be a top priority for MSPs and their customers going forward.
We wanted to gain insights from employers in the cybersecurity and IT field to understand their take on what can be done to accelerate the hiring of cybersecurity professionals. We wanted to know if more employers are focused on hiring cybersecurity experts and what they are looking for in a potential hire.
Are You Looking To Hire Cybersecurity Experts?
Prevention and Real-Life Experience
After speaking to experts and leaders who have established themselves in the industry, one of the key pieces of advice to candidates was that those who know security, understand prevention, vulnerabilities, and have a strong knowledge of handling incidents will generally have an advantage.
”Looking to hire security professionals and looking for someone who is not just familiar with prevention but also has dealt with handling an actual incident. Someone who had dealt with the incident is much more familiar with the other side of not doing the security, the right way. At that point, it’s not just theoretical”, said Ashu Singhal of Orion Networks.
Understanding of Best Practices
When asked if there was something specific that businesses and organizations may look for when searching for cybersecurity professionals to fill roles, Carl Fransen of CTECH Consulting Group shared the following:
A solid understanding of security best practices is now the baseline for any new hires. This includes the traditional way of applying security such as the implementation of spam/antivirus filters, firewalls, passwords, and permissions and the modern way in which the various cloud services need to be protected. Cybersecurity experts, who are dedicated purely to cybersecurity, either require a large organization to apply their skills or an IT firm with a large established client base who would be interested in having that level of security. Most IT firms outsource their higher end security requirements to those dedicated security firms.
Focusing on Specific Skills
We are always looking for cybersecurity talent. As an IT services firm, it is important to have the right personnel in place to protect our clients. Presently, it is difficult to hire for some roles due to the lack of skilled technical talent. TechRepublic mentions that there are as many as 3.5 million unfilled positions. How is an SME going to address that need? Many should consider outsourcing those cybersecurity functions to a third-party provider’, said Holden Watne of GenerationIX.
Watne provided additional advice to businesses and organizations, sharing the following:
If you decide to make a hire in-house, thoroughly evaluate the candidate. Make sure they have the skill set needed for your organization. Consider hiring a junior level and training them. Look for candidates with a passion for cybersecurity and attention to detail. All organizations must evaluate their security posture and continue to do so moving forward.
Addressing the Need for Change
The demand is high and the amount of work that needs to be addressed will continue to increase. Some roles are often left unfilled for an entire year as businesses struggle to find the right candidate. The cybersecurity field evolves quickly and technology is becoming more cutting-edge. Cybercriminals are using more sophisticated tools and are creating new methods of attack.
Having top-notch cybersecurity professionals on your side can improve the chances of sophisticated attacks being uncovered. Businesses and organizations need to understand that the ”perfect candidate” for them may not be staring directly at them, but it is important to recognize talent and skills.
Businesses and organizations are encouraged to offer training courses and classes to students so these students will become more interested and knowledgeable in cybersecurity. As more students become engaged and aware of what cybersecurity is and what needs to be done to combat cyber attacks, the large gap can begin to shrink.
Owners, managers, and leaders of businesses of all sizes will always find things to keep them up at night. However, many of them are looking to cybersecurity professionals to protect them in a world that continues to be stopped in its tracks with high-profile cyber attacks. The gap that exists can eventually be bridged, but it will take the efforts of several parties to ensure that businesses of all sizes are able to address the large number of cybersecurity roles being unfilled.
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