Professionals Across the Globe Agree: Government Don't Invest Enough In Cyber

A global lack of cybersecurity talent could make nations more vulnerable to cyberattack, and governments aren't doing enough to fill that gap, a new report finds. About 33 percent of respondents to a recent survey — spanning eight nations — said a cyber skills shortage does “direct and measurable damage” to their organizations, according to a joint report compiled by Intel Security and Washington think tank the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The majority, 76 percent, said they didn’t think their governments were doing enough to recruit a better workforce. The survey tapped hundreds of executives in various countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Australia, Japan, Mexico and Israel. The scarcest skills overall were “intrusion detection, secure software development, and attack mitigation,” the report found. About 71 percent of respondents said that skills shortage makes them “more desirable hacking targets." The US cyber shortage appears to be less dire than that of Australia or Mexico. In those countries, almost 90 percent of respondents said there was a skills gap, compared to a little more than 80 percent of US respondents. Only about 70 percent of United Kingdom respondents reported a shortage.