Skills shortage is plaguing the cyber security industry as jobs aren’t being filled

According to a report published on June 21 by staffing firm TeamLease Digital, the industry saw over 40,000 job postings in the first five months of 2023. However, it added that despite strong demand for such roles and rising salaries, around 30% of them remain vacant.

Experts say shortage of skilled professionals for expected roles, high attrition levels and often extreme stress levels are affecting the industry.

Another report by TeamLease Digital on 28 March estimated a cut of up to 40% in annual hiring figures for the information technology (IT) services sector, India’s largest tech recruiter.

However, companies in the IT services sector and beyond are continuing to hire cyber security professionals, which is reflected in the increase in the number of cyber security jobs.

“Last year there were around 45,000 open opportunities in the cyber security industry, with a gap of 37% in the supply of skilled professionals,” said Sunil Chemmankotil, chief executive of TeamLease Digital.

IT services companies have also highlighted their struggles in hiring cyber security personnel. In an interview on June 22, Debasish Chatterjee, managing director and chief executive of IT services firm LTIMindtree, said the company continues to recruit cyber security talent despite a decline in overall hiring across the organization.

“There are specific skills requirements in the current market that our customers seek and are willing to spend on – cyber security is one area where demand continues to be strong,” he added.

However, Chemmankotil of TeamLease Digital said most cyber security hiring has happened at the entry level and mid-junior level, leaving mid-career and above roles mostly vacant. The roles that have remained vacant include IT auditor, information security analyst, network engineer, cloud architect, penetration tester, forensic analyst and top positions such as chief information security officer (CISO) and cyber security director. This is happening despite a significant increase in the salaries of top cyber security talent. Data on cyber security salaries obtained by Mint from TeamLease Digital showed that the salaries of CISOs (Chief Information Security Officers) with more than 12 years of experience have increased by more than 30% in the last one year to approx. 80 lakhs per annum.

Mid-career network engineer roles require 8-12 years of work experience Average pay has seen an increase of over 25% in the last 12 months above 23 lakh per annum 18 lakhs. IT auditor jobs have seen an increase in average salary Above 25 lakhs for employees with 5-8 years of work experience 20 lakhs a year ago.

Industry experts attribute the increase in pay to a talent shortage plaguing the industry, especially for senior roles.

“While upskilling and reskilling is part of most job profiles, the rate at which this is happening has not matched the nature and pace of growth in cyber attacks. Many companies have to fill open cyber security roles with regular candidates, as a result – those who have a degree in a relevant field or previous cyber security work experience,” said Prateek Bhajanka, CISO and Director, APJ, at Sentinelvan, a US-based cyber security firm. Said.

Sandeep Kumar Panda, co-founder and chief executive of Delhi-based cyber security firm InstaSafe, said the widespread lack of adoption of open-source standards, including training programs and course curriculums based on open-source technologies, is a significant hurdle. To hone cyber security talent.

“Upskilling is happening but not at the rate it should be in the country. Unless there is an open-source culture, where bug bounty programs and events like security hackathons allow more freedom and flexibility to fix errors – to come up with indigenous security solutions, the skills gap will continue to widen , “They said. .

Both Bhajanka and Chemmankotil said the high attrition level is another reason for the supply gap. “Many cyber security professionals quit midway due to excessive job pressure. They struggle with new frameworks and models, like zero trust,” Chemmankotil said.

Experts also said that the irregularity and increasing intensity of the cyber security job has also been a deterrent for many. The talent shortage still persists, even though TeamLease Data estimates that the domestic cyber security sector will grow at 8% annually, to reach $3.5 billion by 2027.

UPDATE: June 25, 2023, 09:47 PM IST