As organizations undertake digital transformation initiatives and become increasingly reliant on computer and networking infrastructures, cybersecurity subsequently plays a more integral role in the protection of the brand. Exacerbating this increased need, however, is the shortage of skilled cybersecurity practitioners.
According to estimates from the International Information System Security Certification Consortium (ISC)2, the cybersecurity industry is facing a global skills gap with over 4 million unfilled cybersecurity roles.[1] To fill these open positions, the cybersecurity workforce must grow by 145% worldwide.
Filling the Cyber Skills Gap
This skills gap can make it difficult and expensive for organizations to hire and retain the cybersecurity talent that they require. Within their power, however, are multiple options for filling this deficit.
Leveraging Security Automation
The cybersecurity skills gap exists because the demand for cybersecurity talent exceeds the supply of cybersecurity professionals available. An organization can help to reduce this gap by decreasing their demand for cybersecurity professionals.This can be accomplished by using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to automate simple and repetitive security tasks. For example, MorganFranklin offers an ML-based solution for alert management, enabling organizations to reduce the number of false positive alerts that they receive. Processing a smaller number of actionable alerts reduces workload and manpower requirements for an organization’s security operations center (SOC).
Training Existing Employees
While an organization may have a limited number of cybersecurity professionals on staff, it likely has other employees with similar and complementary skill sets. For example, a skilled network administrator has many of the same skills that are required by SOC analysts.
A company can fill crucial cybersecurity roles by identifying and retraining existing staff members who express interest in expanding or diversifying their skill set. By supporting the continuing education interests of employees, all parties benefit and organizations are better able to meet their cybersecurity needs.
Outsourcing Security Operations
Organizations can fill vacant cybersecurity positions by using a third-party security provider. Partnering with a Managed Security Services Provider (MSSP) can allow an organization to completely outsource security operations or scale an existing security team to meet increased demand.
Leveraging the capabilities of an MSSP can help an organization to mature their cybersecurity posture and develop a business continuity/disaster recovery strategy by providing access to specialized skill sets. For example, an organization without an in-house SOC could take advantage of a SOC as a Service offering to achieve 24/7 network monitoring and protection. Alternatively, an organization may choose to partner with an MSSP to have access to an incident response team in the event of a data breach or other cybersecurity incident.
Hiring and Retaining Specialized Talent
Although an organization has a number of different options to fill crucial cybersecurity job roles, some positions may require experience that existing employees lack, while also not being ideal for outsourcing.
For these positions, an organization may have no choice but to hire specialized talent. However, by exploring alternative options for other job roles, an organization may be better positioned to allocate resources in a way that enables it to attract and retain top talent for key positions.
Building a Cybersecurity Culture
An organization’s ability to fill crucial cybersecurity roles is essential to protecting it against cyberattacks. The accelerating pace of the cyber threat landscape, however, means that a security staff of any size will still struggle to protect an organization from threats. Securing a company against cyberattack requires a concerted effort across the entire organization; buy-in from departments across the organization and assurance that employees are invested in adhering to cybersecurity best practices.
How MorganFranklin Can Help
MorganFranklin has a number of different options to help organizations fill crucial cybersecurity positions. These include expert guidance on how best to fill certain positions, cybersecurity awareness training designed to improve an organization’s cybersecurity culture, and third-party cybersecurity service offerings. To find out how MorganFranklin can help your organization optimize its cybersecurity investment, reach out for a consultation.
Sources
[1] https://www.isc2.org/News-and-Events/Press-Room/Posts/2019/11/06/ISC2-Finds-the-Cybersecurity-Workforce-Needs-to-Grow–145
