The market for cybersecurity talent has suffered a growing shortage over the past five years. Despite the career field’s comparatively attractive pay and enticing perks, the supply of qualified professionals has fallen far short of organizational needs.

Analysts have been exploring the numerous factors that may be contributing to this concerning phenomenon. Poor awareness at educational institutions of cybersecurity career opportunities, lagging interest among women and an outsized surge in demand are oft-cited suspects.

Initiatives launched at federal level have attempted to realign the talent supply with the demand, but these efforts will take some time. Meanwhile, businesses are faced with a real predicament — what are the consequences of an undersized security team? — and are looking for ways to cope with this problem.

A recent study conducted by Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) surveyed security and IT professionals to get an idea of how, exactly, businesses are impacted by the shortage. More than half of the 412 respondents claimed that the size and skill sets of their security operations were less than what’s necessary for an organization of their size.

The report not only points to general weakness in cybersecurity preparedness, but it also indicates some specific areas of concern. These include:

• Proactive threat intelligence: Organizations often are unable to spot threats prior to the attack, which requires advanced skills. Instead, they remain in reactive mode.
• Threat analysis assessment: Many organizations get buried under the volume of threat alerts coming in on a daily basis. Without sufficient skilled staff, the issue is intensified, and organizations miss important warnings that could help them deter intrusions.
• Forensic analysis: Without skills in computer forensics, teams have difficulty discovering the nuances of network penetration and have trouble protecting against similar attacks in the future.
• Incident tracking: Without tracking the full lifecycle of an incident, organizations can’t meaningfully measure and monitor their performance in key areas of cybersecurity.

On top of all this, the lack of sufficient staff members can lead to a productivity decline for employees, who could leave due to stress or burnout.

Don’t panic. You have options for dealing with the cybersecurity talent shortage, including development of internal resources and outsourcing to managed security operations. Learn about the services Lunarline can provide for you by contacting us online today.