(ISC)2 has recently published the 2019 edition of its annual Workforce Study.

The report indicates that the cybersecurity skills gap remains one of the main threats worldwide, with its size now expanded to 4.07 million professionals needed.

65% of companies included in the study reported a cybersecurity staff shortage, and for 36% of respondents, the lack of skilled cybersecurity specialists was their top concern.

“The volume of attacks and sophistication of attacks from around the world continue to increase,” said ISC2 CEO David Shearer. “We have nation-state types of attacks, criminal activity types of attacks and individuals that are just trying to do fraud and cybercrime. And so as these activities on the web continue to grow, there continues to be less and less of the qualified people that we need to conquer those attacks.”

The report also uncovers aseries of strategies that organizations can use to recruit, build and strengthen their cybersecurity teams:

1. Organisations should proivide their staff with training and professional development opportunities that can contribute to their career advancement
2. Given that the majority of cybersecurity professionals wear many hats, organisations should be realistic about requirements for certifications based on the level of position they are hiring.
3. Organisations should look at fresh candidates that may have slightly tangential skills to cybersecurity, maybe offering cybersecurity certifications, which are really attracting when it comes to job satisfaction and recruiting.
4. Organisations should grow their cybersecurity workforce from within, by providing internal training paths.

The report can be downloaded here.