Global Shortage Of Cybersecurity Shortage According To Intel Report

The Intel Security and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) has found that over 200,000 cybersecurity jobs were left vacant in the US in 2015 and that an average of 15% of cybersecurity positions will remain vacant by 2020.

“This is a global problem; a majority of respondents in all countries surveyed could link their workforce shortage to damage to their organisation.”

The survey also found that there is a global cyber-security talent shortage, with blame being squarely set at the feet of governments, a lack of education and training, and the business community itself.

The report details the responses from a number of cybersecurity experts from various organisations in the US, UK, France, Germany, Australia, Japan, Mexico and Israel. Some 82% of them agreed that there is a critical shortage in the global cybersecurity workforce.

“A shortage of people with cybersecurity skills results in direct damage to companies, including the loss of proprietary data and IP,” said James A Lewis, senior vice president and director of the Strategic Technologies Program at CSIS. “This is a global problem; a majority of respondents in all countries surveyed could link their workforce shortage to damage to their organization.”

This news was despite the fact that around 25% of the IT experts who responded to the survey admitting that their businesses had lost proprietary data due the shortage of skilled professionals.

One of the reasons why the industry is experiencing such a shortage is due to the dramatic rise in demand for cybersecurity professionals, which has outpaced the supply of qualified professionals required. In fact, the study revealed that only 23% of respondents felt that academic programs were adequately training students to enter the industry.

Unsurprisingly perhaps, the study also found that the countries and industry sectors that spend more on cybersecurity are better placed to deal with the workforce shortage, which according to 71 percent of respondents, has resulted in direct and measureable damage to their organization’s security networks.

But perhaps the most critical heads up for the future was referenced to the lack of education and training currently available. Only 23 percent of survey respondents thought that education programs were good enough for new entrants to the industry. students to enter the industry.