cyber trends
Neeraj Suri , Distinguished Professorship and Chair in Cybersecurity at Lancaster University
less technical language would help the industry communicate better , so that the whole organisation could understand the risks and how to stay protected .
“ The reason that 63 % of InfoSec professionals believe that cyberwarfare is a threat to their organisation is easy . Dependency on technology is at an all-time high and if someone was to take out the Wi-Fi in a home or office , no one would be able to do anything . This dependency wasn ’ t there a few years back , it wasn ’ t even as high a few months back . This high dependency on technology doesn ’ t just open the door for ransomware or IoT threats on an individual level , but also to cyberwarfare which can be so catastrophic it can ruin economies . The reason that nearly a quarter of InfoSec pros don ’ t currently have a strategy to protect against cyberwarfare is likely because of complacency . Since they haven ’ t suffered an attack , or haven ’ t seen on a wide scale the damage that can be done , they haven ’ t invested the time in protecting against it ,” commented Neeraj Suri , Distinguished Professorship and Chair in Cybersecurity at Lancaster University .
Diversity , and specifically neurodiversity , is key to future success
Outside of the drastic changes that are needed in the way cybersecurity professionals communicate , there ’ s also a need to make a change within the very make up of the workforce .
The InfoSec industry has long suffered from a skills shortage , and this looks to remain an ongoing and increasingly obvious issue . 15 % of InfoSec professionals believe that the biggest development in cybersecurity over the next 12 – 18 months will be the skills gap increasing . If the skills deficit continues for another five years , 28 % of CISOs and CIOs say they believe that it will destroy businesses . And another half ( 50 %) of InfoSec professionals believe that the skills gap will be seriously disruptive if it continues for the next five years .
Today , however , it will take more than just recruiting skilled workers to make a positive change and protect
If the skills deficit continues for another five years , 28 % of CISOs and CIOs say they believe that it will destroy businesses .
organisations . In 2015 , 52 % of InfoSec workers would have agreed that there is a lack of diversity in cybersecurity and that it ’ s a concern . Five years later , in 2020 , this remains the same and that
Liviu Arsene , Global Cybersecurity Researcher at Bitdefender is a significant problem as 40 % of CISOs / CIOs and InfoSec professionals say that the cybersecurity industry should reflect the society around it to be effective . What ’ s more , 76 % of CISOs / CIOs , and 72 % of InfoSec professionals , believe that there is a need for a more diverse skill set among those tackling cybersecurity tasks . This is because 39 % of InfoSec professionals say that neurodiversity will make cybersecurity defences stronger , and 33 % revealed a more neurodiverse workforce will level the playing field against bad actors .
While it ’ s clear that the cybersecurity skills gap is here to stay , it ’ s also clear why changes need to be made to the make up of the industry .
Liviu Arsene , Global Cybersecurity Researcher at Bitdefender , concluded : “ 2020 has been a year of change – not only for the world at large – but for the security industry . The security landscape is rapidly evolving as it tries to adapt to the new normal , from distributed workforces to new threats . Among the new threats is cyberwarfare . It ’ s of great concern to businesses and the economy – and yet not everyone is prepared for it . At the same time , InfoSec professionals have had to keep up with new threats from an old source , ransomware , that can affect companies ’ bottom lines if not handled carefully .
“ The one thing we know is that the security landscape will continue to evolve . Changes will happen , but we can now make sure they happen for the better and not for the worse . To succeed in the new security landscape , the way we as an industry talk about security has to become more accessible to a wider audience to gain support and investment from within the business . In addition , we have to start thinking about plugging the skills gap in a different way – we have to focus on diversity , and specifically neurodiversity , if we are to stand our ground and ultimately defeat bad actors .” u www . intelligentciso . com
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