Attempted cyberattacks are no longer an “if,” but a “when.” And, for many companies, hackers will win. In the first half of 2018 alone, more than four billion records were compromised to data breaches. That comes at a heavy price, according to a 2018 study by IBM and the Ponemon Institute. The average data breach cost companies $3.86 million, the study found, and large-scale breaches can hit $350 million. Against that backdrop, companies are eager to hire cybersecurity experts to guard against those risks. The problem: There aren’t nearly enough people who can fill those roles. The demand for skilled security professionals is one of the biggest challenges facing the cybersecurity industry today, with 2.93 million positions open and unfilled around the world, according to non-profit IT security organization (ISC)².
Without trained security staff, organizations don’t have the capability to deploy the right controls or develop specific security processes to detect and prevent cyberattacks, according to Jon Oltsik, senior principal analyst at IT research firm Enterprise Strategy Group. On top of that, current employees face the challenge of an ever-shifting industry. “I always say that cybersecurity professionals are like physicians, in that they have to spend ample time studying the latest research and threat intelligence,” said Oltsik
By Shirley Tay
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