Cyber skills shortage blamed for data security breaches

Around 70 per cent of the world's IT professionals say they believe a lack of cyber security skills has had a negative impact on their company.

The survey of 343 IT experts was conducted by the Information Systems Security Association (ISSA) and the Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) and revealed that shortfalls in cyber security skills are increasing the chances of data security breaches.

In fact, 45 per cent of those surveyed stated that their organisation had suffered at least one data security incident within the past 24 months, with 91 of the IT professionals suggesting their companies could still be vulnerable to data breaches or cyber attacks.

Aside from skills shortages, the respondents stated that lack of training opportunities for employees without IT skills was one of the key factors behind data security issues in larger organisations. According to the data, 62 per cent of IT professionals believe their employer fails to provide the correct standard of training for their staff.

In particular, the study revealed that employees lacked skills in security analysis, application security and security in cloud solutions, with one in five stating that their firm places cyber security at low priority.

Commenting on the results of the survey, Jon Oltsik, senior principal analyst at ESG, said: "The cyber-security skills shortage represents an existential threat to our national security and this year-over-year comparison data bears out this fact."

He added: "We are not making progress, cyber security professionals can’t scale, and the implications of the skills shortage are becoming more pervasive and ominous."

Mr Oltsik has suggested that employers should learn from the results, arguing that the solution to the problem should take into account more than just filling jobs. "It is about creating an environment from the top down of cyber security as a priority," he said.