CyberSeek helps organizations address growing cybersecurity staffing challenges

Revised NIST Cyber Security Framework - Security Magazine

New data from CyberSeek, America’s top free resource on the U.S. cybersecurity job market, shows that the shortage of cyber professionals is approaching a danger level, putting digital privacy and infrastructure at greater risk.

The new information on the supply and demand of cybersecurity workers is among the updates and enhancements made to CyberSeek this month. Comprehensive career information on more than 50 cybersecurity job roles has also been added.

From October 2019 through September 2020, there were 166,000 openings for information security analysts, but only 125,570 workers currently employed in those positions – an annual talent shortfall of 40,430 workers for cybersecurity’s largest job, according to CyberSeek.

Additionally, employers continued to struggle to find workers to fill an estimated 355,600 other job openings that requested cybersecurity-related skills. On average, cybersecurity roles take 21% longer to fill than other IT jobs.

“Cyber threats have become more numerous and dangerous as more of us work from home and learn remotely,” said Randi Parker, senior director for partner engagement with Creating IT Futures, the leading charity for CompTIA. “This has prompted organizations to re-examine the readiness of their cybersecurity teams. CyberSeek is a valuable resource that they can rely to identify gaps in their defenses and determine how best to close them.”

The latest numbers on the nation’s cybersecurity workforce are included in CyberSeek’s interactive heat map, a granular snapshot of demand and supply data across the country. The map provides detailed information on the size and characteristics of the cybersecurity workforce at the national, state and metro area levels.

CyberSeek’s interactive career pathway now includes detailed information on the many opportunities for careers within cybersecurity. In all 52 cybersecurity work roles identified in the Workforce Framework for Cybersecurity (NICE Framework) – from all-source collection manager to vulnerability assessment analyst – are included. Real-time data on job openings, salaries, requested education, certification and skillsets, common transition and advancement opportunities, and more is available for each job role.

CyberSeek is a joint initiative between the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE), led by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST); Burning Glass Technologies, a leading provider of job market analytics and strategic intelligence; and CompTIA, the nonprofit association for the global technology industry and workforce. Since 2016, CyberSeek has provided detailed, actionable data about supply and demand in the U.S. cybersecurity job market. To explore CyberSeek visit https://www.cyberseek.org.

ON DEMAND: Business-impacting events such as severe weather, man-made disasters, and supply chain disruption are increasing in frequency and making impacts around the globe.

In today's rapidly evolving security landscape, organizations face an ever-growing array of disruptive events, security threats and risks. Traditional reactive approaches to security intelligence often leave businesses vulnerable and ill-prepared to anticipate and mitigate emerging threats that could impact the safety of their people, facilities or operations.