3 Ways to Reduce the Cybersecurity Widening Workforce Gap
With increasing frequency and intensity of the malicious breaches, the need for trained professionals to counter these attacks, is also increasing. Cybersecurity war requires inventive solutions that are realized when public and private enterprises work together for this integrated goal.
Fremont, CA: The innovation and advancement of IT have led to the rise of cyber threats at an alarming rate over the last decade. Cybercriminals have reached unparalleled heights. In 2019 alone, hundreds of millions of users have faced data breaches and cyberattacks. The devices which once seem impenetrable like Apple's iPhone, Microsoft Visual Studio, etc. are now easily be intruded.
There are number of examples like, personal details of millions of customers were stolen from a leading credit card company's server, and Ransomware is continuously disrupting private industry around the globe. With the increasing frequency and intensity of these malicious breaches, the need for trained professionals to counter these attacks is also on the rise. A data shows that the U.S. has a shortage of 314,000 trained cybersecurity professionals this year. This is a 50-percent rise since 2015.
Let us look, how this issue can be resolved.
Education for New Generation Tech Talent
Big tech giants like Microsoft, Facebook, Google, and other tech firms have collaborated for the greater good of the tech community and have identified the needs, risks, and specific vulnerabilities of the cybersecurity. Based on these requirements, Irish universities and other tech institutes developed programs for a wide range of tech-based occupations. As these companies had to deal with greater digital data and digital security, they prefer to hire trained professionals rather than just graduates. Hence, the programs offered by the tech institutes gives holistic learning for the graduate, and the duration of such programs varies from a two-day course for non-technical to 12-week course for graduates.
Dr. Eoin Byrne, cluster manager of Cyber Ireland, said, "as far back as 2017, U.S. businesses, the Irish government, and academia have been working together to, first, understand key challenges and then create solutions for the cybersecurity and technology sector. We plan to address industry employment issues beyond just security."
Solving a Systematic Lack of Cyber Skills
Europe's 'Cluster' concept is a highly successful economic development model that engages regional, research and academia, market-specific teams of government to meet the organization's hiring goals and bolster growth. For almost two decades, American companies are looking overseas to remedy the deficit in their domestic front, and Europe has been one of their first choices where they are embracing Europe's 'Cluster' concept.
The spending on global security is expected to rise from $124 billion in 2019 to $170 billion in 2022. U.S. tech giants are now more concerned for their data security with the development of artificial intelligence, cloud services, data analytics, which brings more chances of data threats.
Cyber Security as a Profession
Making a career in such critical areas like network security, cloud security, application security, business continuity management, penetration testing, and malware is an exception. Countries like Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Ireland are giving extensive effort to train graduates and motivate them to make a career in this profession. Ireland, for instance, is producing more STEM-focused (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) technologists, with a strong focus on cybersecurity positions.
With equipping the current generation of cybersecurity professionals technically, we must prepare the next one too. Cybersecurity war requires inventive solutions that are realized when public and private enterprises work together for this integrated goal.
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