ROSALYN PAGE
HOW IS THE INDUSTRY RESPONDING TO THE SKILLS AND TALENT SQUEEZE? By Rosalyn Page, Award-winning writer and content strategist covering innovation, technology and the digital lifestyle Security professionals do not need to be told they
is worse. “The crunch is being felt hardest across
are experiencing a talent squeeze, but the shortage
the public sector, where government departments
is worsening. Sixty three percent of respondents to
struggle to compete for staff against well-heeled
ISACA’s 2022 State of Cybersecurity 2022 report had
private firms in terms of salary,” Singh says. “It is
unfilled cybersecurity positions, up eight percentage
also the case in healthcare, an industry already
points from 2021.
experiencing massive burnout and the added pressure of protecting highly sensitive patient information.”
While the pandemic has exacerbated an already tight issues. According to Jo Stewart-Rattray, a member
THE TALENT SQUEEZE MAKES THE ENTIRE ORGANISATION MORE VULNERABLE
of ISACA’s Information Security Advisory Group,
Increasingly frequent attacks coupled with increased
the pay disparity between genders has produced
digitisation across all sectors means security is no
a male dominated workforce and has inhibited the
longer just an IT issue, according to Verizon’s head of
creation of a wider cohort in the industry.
APJ cybersecurity, John Hines. He says organisations
cybersecurity talent pool, there are other systemic
are already struggling with increased security risks. “A Adding to the challenges, ADAPT research analyst
cyber skills shortage means teams may not have the
Pooja Singh says it is critical to have the right talent.
right mix of resources to manage potential attacks.”
“As organisations try to modernise and remain secure against evolving threats, the cyber skills shortage can
One of the less obvious issues, according to Hines, is
often feel more pronounced than shortages in other
that more organisations are falling into the category
technical areas,” she says.
of critical infrastructure. “Pressure for a strong security posture for these Australian organisations is
However, there are some sectors where the shortage
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W O M E N I N S E C U R I T Y M A G A Z I N E
at an all-time high.”
N O V E M B E R • D E C E M B E R 2022
