Intelligence analyst Cybersecurity Ventures has warned that the cyber-security market is facing an “epidemic” skills shortage.
The California-based research firm has compiled a quarterly Cybersecurity 500 list since 2015, cataloguing what it sees as the hottest and most innovative industry leaders
Feedback from 2017’s top three – Herjavec Group, IBM Security and Raytheon Cyber has revealed growing concern over the widening gap between security threats, and the number of people qualified to tackle them.
The single biggest trend, globally, is that there are chronic work shortages of qualified cyber security staff. It’s an absolute epidemic, the survey found.
From the end of 2013 to 2015, Cisco published research on global cyber security that showed there were one million cyber security positions open globally and Cybersecurity Ventures’ own research suggests that this deficit become worse.
There is a predicted growth in cybercrime coming and by 2021, the company expects there to be 3.5 million vacant cybersecurity job openings.
“The pipeline of security talent isn’t where it needs to be to help curb the rise in more widespread, and more sophisticated, cybercrime.”
There are shortfalls in specialised education in information technology and computer science.
Out of the top ten ranked firms, seven are based out of the US; one in Canada; one in IT security hub Israel; and one UK outfit: Sophos.
Other UK high flyers include BAE Systems (14), BT (29), PwC (32), NNT (54) and KPMG (57). DFLabs in Lombardy, Italy was the highest-ranked continental European firm, at number 19.
