Cybersecurity is facing a crisis
The field of cybersecurity is facing a crisis. There simply aren’t enough people with the right skills to defend against an increasing number and severity of cyberattacks. According to a recent study by ISACA, a not-for-profit association that provides cyber-knowledge and insights for professionals in IT, information security and other disciplines, the average cost for each lost or stolen record containing sensitive and confidential information is now $158, up sharply from the prior year’s average of just under $100.
Michael N.S. Byrnes, an IT executive who is president of ISACA, said, “There is an immense shortage of cybersecurity professionals worldwide,” said Byrnes. “As attacks become more sophisticated, there are just not enough professionals to combat them.”
Cyber Security Training is Too Expensive for Most Companies
In a survey of IT professionals conducted by ISACA and security software firm RSA, 77 percent of organizations admit that cybersecurity training is too expensive for most companies to afford. The majority — 60 percent — said that they simply can’t find people with the right skillset.
“If you look at where cyberattacks are coming from, the vast majority of them come from organized crime,” Byrnes said. “They’re using ransomware and other attacks to steal data and monetize it, so they can fund their dark operations.”
Is Cyber Threat Intelligence the Answer?
According to Byrnes, the only real solution is for organizations themselves to invest in their own cybersecurity. Taking basic cyber hygiene steps like using strong passwords and ensuring that software patches are up-to-date is a start. In addition, he said that there needs to be more investment in training people with the right skillsets — either within the organization itself or with a trusted cybersecurity partner — and leveraging threat intelligence to detect attacks proactively.
“Cyberthreat intelligence is incredibly important,” Byrnes said. “IT professionals need to know if their networks have been breached so that they can take action before attackers monetize the stolen data.”
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