Cybersecurity job candidates underqualified, professionals say

The ISACA Cybersecurity Jobs Index reveals a significant increase among cybersecurity professionals who report job candidates not being sufficiently qualified at time of hire.

The index found that 59% of professionals now say fewer than half of their job candidates were considered ‘qualified upon hire’, which is an increase of 9% in just one year. In addition, 27% need six months to fill a cybersecurity position, which is an increase of three points from 2014.

This comes at a time when cybersecurity threats are on the rise, with 76 breaches in APAC in the first six months of 2016. Indeed, Australia is ranked first in data breaches, with NZ taking fourth place.

The average cost of a data breach in Australia is now $3.46 million, with the main industries affected being financial (2%), education (1%), health care (30%), government (57%) and other industries (35%).

“The cybersecurity skills gap is quickly turning into a chasm,” said Christos Dimitriadis, chair of ISACA’s board of directors.

“ISACA’s 2016 Cybersecurity Jobs Index shows that the number and cost of a breach are on the rise, but so too are the number of cybersecurity job openings and length of time it takes to fill an opening.

“It’s a perfect storm that leaves organisations vulnerable — so a greater focus on cybersecurity upskilling is critical.”

The issue of cybersecurity preparedness is firmly on the radar for professionals. However, the shortage of properly trained and credentialed professionals is creating a large hole in company defences that technology alone is unable to fill.

It is predicted that 17% of cybersecurity positions advertised by Australian businesses will go unfilled by 2020.

Tracking the cybersecurity jobs market will show executives whether the gap is growing and what they should do to cope.

Image credit: ©Duncan Andison/Dollar Photo Club