Security Experts Run Scarce
A survey recently published by the Computing Technology Industry Association (CTIA) and quoted by DarkReading shows that companies do not find the IT security skills they need in the experts they hire. CTIA surveyed 3500 technology professionals from three continents, Europe, North America and Asia, and concluded most of them hold security expertise as a top of the game skill when looking for techies to hire. Yet the skill set of existing IT professionals does not match their demands.
Among organizations surveyed in nine countries with established IT industries (Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, U.K., and U.S.), 73 percent identified security, firewalls, and data privacy as the IT skills most important to their organizations. But just 57 percent said their IT employees are proficient in these security skills, a gap of 16 percentage points.
The gap is even wider in five countries where the IT industry is still emerging (China, India, Poland, Russia, and South Africa). Among respondents in these countries, 76 percent identified security as the top skill their organization needs; but just 57 percent said their current tech staff is proficient in security. That’s a difference of 19 percentage points, CompTIA noted.
