Alexandra Borgeaud
Research expert covering cybersecurity and tech in Latin America
Cybersecurity skills gaps - statistics & Facts
News headlines continue to report an ever-growing number of cyber attacks around the world despite a proliferation of cybersecurity guidance and significant increases in global cybersecurity spending. Indeed, as leading companies across industries push for further adoption of digital technologies, the number of software applications used by a typical organization has rapidly grown over the last decade, as has the number the number of internet of things (IoT) devices. This has led to a dramatic change in the “attack surface” where these cyber intrusions are deployed. In the face of these facts, cybersecurity professionals have become some of the most in-demand members of today’s tech labor force, with nearly 40 percent of respondents worldwide naming lack of personnel as the main challenge they faced when conducting a cyber risk assessment.
The cybersecurity workforce is growing fast, but demand is growing faster
The total number of professionals working in the cybersecurity industry was estimated to be approximately 5.5 million in 2023, around one-fourth of which was based in the United States. Nevertheless, most companies worldwide considered their company’s IT security team to be understaffed in 2023. That year, China was the country with the largest cybersecurity workforce gap, with a shortage of just under 1.7 million cybersecurity professionals. India ranked second, with close to an 800 thousand gap. While some of the main reasons for cybersecurity staff shortages include budget and wage concerns, the most important reason cited by cybersecurity professionals worldwide was because they could not find enough qualified talent.Cloud, AI, and Zero Trust among the most demanded skills
The struggle faced by employers worldwide to recruit qualified and skilled IT security professionals is particularly severe for some specific roles. Cloud computing security, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, as well as Zero Trust implementation, constituted the most in-demand skills among IT security teams worldwide as of 2023. By contrast, most cybersecurity worldwide highlighted soft skills gaps, such as communication, flexibility, and leadership, among recent university graduates. As AI is forecast to be increasingly used to bolster cybersecurity, AI programming and development are expected to be the most needed skills in the future for AI in cybersecurity. Faced with the challenges ahead, companies are implementing a wide range of measures to mitigate their cybersecurity staff shortages, from investing in training or diversity initiative to providing flexible working conditions.
