Security Remains in Demand While Skills Gaps Persist

In an increasingly digital, interconnected world, cyber security affects organizations on more levels than ever before. Given the criticality of information security, it comes as no surprise that four out of five companies responding to CompTIA’s 10th Annual Information Security Trends study expect to focus on security going forward. The continued focus on information security has made it a unique field in which demand exceeds supply. According to the job board aggregator Indeed.com, the number of information security jobs has grown since 2006. Our study also finds that intent to hire in security is strong, with a net 49 percent of companies saying that they intend to hire security specialists.

Regardless of how the information security landscape changes, one constant will always remain – the human factor. According to the study, 41 percent of companies report that their staff has room to grow when it comes to their security expertise. The challenge for IT security staff is compounded by constantly changing technology and continually emerging new security threats to contend with. Emerging growth areas here include cloud security, mobile security and data loss prevention. Organizations report that the risks of lagging behind on security skills include not knowing where the company is exposed, loss of business as a result of security issues with customer data and costs incurred for training the current workforce.

Employers take security skills gaps seriously. CompTIA’s State of IT Skills Gap report found that 89 percent of companies place a high importance on security skills. Our study found that organizations plan to improve their security situation through training/certifying existing staff (32 percent), hiring specialists (17 percent), a combination of hiring and training (32 percent) and outsourcing the security function (9 percent).

Our study also found that organizations view certified staff as an integral part of their security apparatus, with 84 percent reporting positive ROI from security certifications. Survey respondents affirmed that certification has value: Many agreed that certified staff are more valuable to the organization, have proven expertise and perform at a higher level than non-certified staff. CompTIA offers certifications in the security space and more information about these certifications can be found here.

To learn more, check out the 10th Annual Information Security Trends study. The full report is available at no cost to CompTIA members who can access the report at www.comptia.org or by contacting research@comptia.org.