Staffing critical cybersecurity roles continues to be a challenge, with the number of open positions outnumbering the traditional qualified candidates. ISACA’s recent State of Cybersecurity 2019 report found over two thirds of respondents thought their cybersecurity teams were understaffed, and one third indicating it could take six months or more to hire suitable applicants for their open cybersecurity roles, according to CSO Online.
With demand continuing to outpace the growth in candidates, it may be time for organizations to examine cybersecurity candidates from non-traditional backgrounds. This shift can range from recruiting those who may have similar skills in different fields, or working to improve retention of women, who have traditionally been significantly underrepresented in cybersecurity fields. Performance-based training can also be offered, to groom less experienced candidates for more advanced roles.
Alternately, organizations may need to reconsider their budgeting and compensation, to ensure competitive salaries and benefits can be offered to retain or attract cybersecurity staff. While this move may limit the ability of a department to purchase more advanced tools, that may not matter if the organization lacks someone with sufficient expertise to deploy and maintain it.
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