Lack of IT staff leaving companies exposed to hacker attacks

Cybersecurity professionals are calling for better education and improved apprentice schemes after saying a shortfall of staff in the sector is leaving companies exposed to hacker attacks.

According to a recent survey of recruitment agencies, 81% expect a rise in demand for digital security staff, but only 16% saw that the demand would be met.

“Demand is sky-high,” said Tim Holman, the chief executive of the cybersecurity consultancy 2-Sec. “The cost of dealing with cyber problems is only going to go up, insurance premiums will go up, the price of cleanups will go up.”

A number of high profile cyber attacks in 2017 have fuelled demand for professionals. In March, the mobile phone company Three suffered a serious breach that compromised 200,000 customers’ data. In April, the payday loan company Wonga had 250,000 customer records stolen including bank account details, phone numbers, and email addresses. However, the Wannacry ransomware attack on NHS IT systems in May demonstrated that cybersecurity is not simply a problem for business. A third of NHS trusts have reportedly been infected by ransomware this year. Read more….

Lack of IT staff leaving companies exposed to hacker attacks