Hiring and retaining quality cybersecurity talent is harder than ever. According to the 2022 Cybersecurity Workforce Study, there is a 3.4 million global shortage of cybersecurity professionals.
This blog explores the challenges businesses face due to the cybersecurity talent shortage and how they can effectively maintain application security despite limited resources. It will also cover alternative solutions for filling the talent gap, such as leveraging automated mobile app security tools to boost development efficiency and productivity.
📈 Challenges Created by the Cybersecurity Talent Gap
The cybersecurity talent gap can cause many challenges for companies, including:
- Higher risk of cyberattacks: The cybersecurity talent gap has made it harder for companies to hire cybersecurity talent. As a result, companies without sufficient cybersecurity are more likely to fall victim to cyberattacks.
- Difficulty adopting new technologies: Without enough cybersecurity staff, companies will find securing new technologies such as cloud computing and the Internet of Things (IoT) difficult. The cybersecurity talent gap can also hinder the smooth adoption and implementation of these technologies, leading to competitive disadvantages.
- Escalating costs: Talent scarcity may force organizations to offer higher salaries, better benefits, and training incentives to attract and retain talent.
- Impact on products, services, branding, and public safety: Cybersecurity talent shortages can jeopardize products and services, leading to reputational loss and lower revenues. Malicious actors may also steal proprietary and personal information, leading to crimes such as identity theft and blackmail.
👩💻 The Challenges and Causes of the Cybersecurity Talent Gap
The cybersecurity talent gap exists for several reasons. These include high standards for beginners, inefficient and ineffective security awareness training, and restricting security to the final development stage.
High Standards for Beginners
Many employers have unrealistic expectations for entry-level and junior employees just starting their careers. For example, they may demand that entry-level hires possess certifications like Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) and Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP).
Obtaining these certifications usually requires at least five years of work experience. They are also expensive and difficult to pass on the first attempt. Consequently, individuals who hold these certifications are unlikely to apply for entry-level positions. These high standards have discouraged many aspiring cybersecurity professionals from starting their careers in this field.
Inefficient and Ineffective Security Awareness Training
Companies often upskill and reskill computer programmers to fill the cybersecurity talent gap. Unfortunately, many training programs include annual speeches, uninspiring PowerPoint presentations, and online multiple-choice quizzes. Due to the lack of engagement, staff may struggle to comprehend the implications of not prioritizing security. This, in turn, discourages them from prioritizing security awareness training over development, resulting in software with security gaps.
Restricting Security to the Final Development Stage
Even if a company’s security awareness training is engaging and enjoyable, computer programmers are focused on designing, coding, testing, releasing, and maintaining apps and software, not cybersecurity. Computer programmers are especially unlikely to focus on cybersecurity if their companies restrict security to the final development stage. By then, the team is already exhausted from the development process and is unlikely to put much time and effort into security. In these circumstances, the risk of releasing easily exploitable software and apps is high.
→ Alternatives to Filling the Talent Gap
The traditional way of bridging the talent gap in cybersecurity is to offer high salaries and comprehensive benefits. However, this can be expensive and time-consuming, especially for small companies with limited funds. Here are some cost-effective alternatives for filling the talent gap and enhancing development efficiency.
Implement DevSecOps
First, companies should leverage DevSecOps, an approach to automation, culture, and platform design that builds security into software development and IT operations processes. DevSecOps addresses the talent gap by:
- Using automated security testing tools: DevSecOps emphasizes using automated security testing tools, which can detect vulnerabilities in code during the software development lifecycle (SDLC). By automating these procedures, developers can concentrate on resolving issues. This alleviates the pressure on limited cybersecurity personnel and saves time and resources.
- Fostering a culture of collaboration: DevSecOps promotes collaboration between development, security, and operations teams. Developers can learn security best practices from experts, reducing the need to hire dedicated security personnel and the need for upskilling and reskilling programs.
- Emphasizing continuous monitoring: DevSecOps encourages teams to use automated monitoring tools to detect security incidents in real-time, enabling prompt responses without constant supervision.
- Encouraging the implementation of security controls as code: DevSecOps is a software development approach that incorporates security measures into the process. This eliminates the need for separate security reviews and allows security to be integrated into every step of the SDLC without requiring a large cybersecurity team.
Leverage Automated Mobile App Security Tools
Another way to fill the cybersecurity talent gap is by leveraging automated cybersecurity tools for application protection. These apps have the required cybersecurity expertise built into them, reducing the need for additional cybersecurity talent and reskilling/upskilling programs.
The right automated mobile app security tool should:
- Protect against vulnerabilities: The tool must be able to spot misconfigurations and code weaknesses that can cause cybersecurity vulnerabilities. It should be able to inspect every line of code for vulnerabilities and produce static analysis reports. This will lower the risks of customer data theft, loss of application control, loss of control over the hosting server, and brand and website damage.
- Integrate security into development: Including security requirements in the planning phase, security-focused code reviews during development, and penetration testing during integration/acceptance testing.
- Integrate continuous integration (CI) and continuous deployment (CD): Empower teams to scan code securely on their local servers and upload results to the cloud for easy sharing; generate action plans to fix vulnerabilities and determine the time, cost, and effort required; and apply what-if analysis and customize the plan to fit company needs.
