How to Tackle the Prevailing Cybersecurity Skills Gap in Society
Our reliance on the internet and associated devices takes work, leisure, and convenience to a whole new level. But it comes with the downside of creating more opportunities for cyberattacks.
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What Is the Cybersecurity Skills Gap?
Cyber threat actors are committed to discovering ways to exploit the new security problems technology presents. Such a high level of dedication is missing on our part to secure our digital environment as a society.
Let’s look at some factors responsible for the cybersecurity skills gap.
1. Misunderstandings About Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity isn’t a common topic of discussion among everyday people. Those who often talk about it either have a vested interest or are affiliated in one way or the other. Yet cybersecurity affects everyone.
Many people learn the hard way, notably when they fall victim to cyberattacks. The lack of interest in cybersecurity stems from a perception that it’s complex, that it’s rocket science. This misunderstanding reduces the number of people who want tobuild a career in cybersecurity. In the long run, there are fewer professionals to manage the rising cyber threats.
2. Undefined Career Paths
Threat actors focus on specific areas to hone their skills. They deploy their expertise to launch attacks based on the uniqueness of a vulnerability or attack.
Cyber experts, on the other hand, lack the resources and training to specialize in specific areas of cybersecurity. No security team can have one expert in every single vector. As a result of this, they don’t always have the specialized skills and technical know-how to match the attackers.
3. Social Biases
Social biases among cybersecurity executives and gatekeepers contribute to the cybersecurity skills gap too. When you mention a cybersecurity worker, people might assume that you are referring to a middle-class man. Even in movies, the tech gurus that work around the clock to stop the bad guys from compromising networks are mostly men.
This narrative discourages women and other people of different societal backgrounds from joining the workforce because they feel like they don’t belong there.
4. Outrageous Requirements
There’s an exaggerated sense of importance among cybersecurity leaders. Driving a narrative of complexity about the profession, they set overly high requirements for prospective workers, thereby narrowing the entry path.
In addition to having a college degree in a security-related course, cybersecurity employers demand that users must have a series of certifications and ample experience (a catch-22 situation) to qualify for jobs in the industry. These requirements discourage prospects who want tosecure a job in cybersecurityand force them to seek other career opportunities.
5 Ways to Resolve Cybersecurity Skills Gap
Cybersecurity affects all of us either directly or indirectly so resolving its skills gap is in all of our best interests.
The ways to resolve the cybersecurity skills gap in society include improving accessibility, training, and opportunities.
1. Teach Cybersecurity in Schools
Younger people have more affinity for technology. Typically, the digital-age generations have a grasp of how technology works and how to use it a lot more than their older counterparts, but fall short in terms of cybersecurity knowledge.
Stakeholders seem to believe that cybersecurity is a serious business meant for older minds by not exposing children to cybersecurity at an early age. But if young people can use digital technology with ease, they can also master the skills needed to know how to stay secure while using it.
The relevant authorities must take up the responsibility to provide cybersecurity classes at lower education levels. Introducing young people to cybersecurity only at higher education isn’t the best approach because they may have already developed other career interests or developed sloppy habits.
2. Improve Accessibility of Cybersecurity Training
You frequently hear about data breaches and leaks in the news. So you would think that cybersecurity training would be readily available and accessible, but that’s not the case. There aren’t that many training platforms and the few ones are expensive, i.e. inaccessible to people without high financial means.
Incessant attacks make society less habitable—an indication that the government has failed in its responsibility to secure its citizens. To correct this, government agencies need to collaborate with cybersecurity institutions and professionals to offer training to interested parties at subsidized rates.
3. Provide Education and Jobs for Minority Groups
There are fewer people from minority groups working in cybersecurity. Misconceptions over gender, age, and ablities will continue to prevail until the relevant institutions create opportunities for more demographics to come into the field.
Cybersecurity opportunities must extend to creating a conducive work environment for everyone to thrive. Part of this is to establish standard compensations for workers regardless of societal biases. For instance, in racially diverse societies, people of color should have the same cybersecurity training and job opportunities their white counterparts have.
4. Increase the Benefits and Incentives for Cybersecurity Professionals
Financial gains and benefits naturally play a huge role in making a job attractive. Most people would gravitate towards jobs with high financial rewards. Closing the cybersecurity skills gap doesn’t end with training people in cybersecurity and creating job opportunities. If the salaries and remunerations aren’t high, people would look elsewhere.
There must be clearly defined career paths. Instead of putting everybody under one umbrella, there should be outlined fields in which practitioners can specialize, grow, and explore.
5. Adopt Flexible and Creative Employment Methods
There’s a high reliance on academic performance in cybersecurity employment. But the job is more practical-based than theory.The essential skills one needsto excel on the job are not exclusive to formal learning.
Employers need to review their academic job requirements and adopt more flexible methods. If the job requirements include a college cybersecurity degree, several cybersecurity certifications, and years of experience, many young people don’t stand a chance.
Let’s Create a Safer Digital Environment
We might argue that hackers are winning the cybersecurity battle. They focus on getting the job done and avoid trivial distractions. As a society, we can only be a match for them when we work together.
Closing the cybersecurity skills gap will give us a more secure digital environment where we can go about our interactions and business without the fear of losing our valuable and sensitive data.
As a relatively new career field, cybersecurity is plagued with discouraging myths. So, let’s clear the air.
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