‘Defending against the bad guys has never been so challenging’

With the shortage of cybersecurity experts greater than ever, Scott Manson, Cybersecurity Lead – Middle East and Africa, Cisco, says defending against the bad actors has never been as challenging as it is now. 

We live in an era where cyberattacks are increasingly sophisticated and discrete, and the technology and tactics used by criminals has outpaced the ability of IT and security professionals to address these threats.

Although there are more than a million cybersecurity positions available worldwide and the demand for cybersecurity experts has grown three times faster than any other IT role. The global shortage of skilled cybersecurity professionals is set to continue to grow at a rapid pace in 2018, putting public and private sector organisations at risk.

According to the Cisco Annual Security Report, there is currently a deficit of one million security practitioners, increasing to two million by 2019 and that as many as 4.5 million specialists will be needed to combat this ever-growing and constantly evolving threat.

This major gap in the cybersecurity skills problem lies in the disconnect between the perception and reality of security preparedness. While many Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) believe their security, processes are optimised – and their security tools are effective – we believe that their security readiness likely needs improvement.

This disconnect, along with rapidly evolving regulatory requirements and networking technology, further widens the cybersecurity skills gap. Matters don’t get easier if you throw the Internet of Things (IoT) into the mix.

As the IoT gains more traction, the lack of basic security standards in IoT devices will exacerbate the security skills gap. By 2030, it is projected that 500 billion devices and things will be connected to the Internet. In a world where everything is connected, everything is also vulnerable, and our increasingly digital world is more exposed to cyberattacks and cyber-espionage than ever before.

These attacks are dramatically impacting businesses – their bottom line, customers, and often their most prized asset, trust and integrity. According to Cisco’s recently launched 2018 Annual Cybersecurity Report, more than half of all attacks resulted in financial damages of more than US$ 500,000. Defending against the bad guys has never been as challenging and as rewarding as it is now.

According to the Cisco 2018 Security Capabilities Benchmark Study, a shortage of qualified candidates was again one of the top three obstacles to security, with 27% citing a deficit of trained professionals as an obstacle (up from 25% in 2016 and 22% in 2015).

When it comes to the skills needed for digitisation, the Middle East posts one of the world’s fastest growing skills gap in IT, security and networking positions. As digitisation picks up pace across the region, a coordinated, concerted effort needs to be exerted to close this gap, especially as the interest in new, emerging technologies like cloud, artificial intelligence, virtual reality and blockchain picks up pace.