It is no secret that finding and recruiting strong Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) candidates is far from easy. Many CISOs typically stay in a role for a few years and subsequently are not able to dedicate adequate time to the development of junior leaders who could become the next wave of security leaders. Most organizations are forced to look externally for the experience they require. However, looking for outside hires also contributes to the shortage of potential internal leaders, as skilled professionals are often overlooked. For the security industry to thrive, this needs to change, and it starts with grooming the next generation of leaders.

According to a report from Cisco, 5G’s faster broadband (10 to 20 times faster than 4G) will enable 12 billion mobile-ready devices and IoT connections by 2022 compared to 9 billion in 2017. While this is great news for the rising number of smart device users globally, the increased connectivity can be taxing for IoT security. The combination of higher bandwidth and lower latency is a double-edged sword. While it enables new, exciting use cases like Vehicle-to-Vehicle and telemedicine, it is critical to not lose sight of the fact that it expands the scope of security threats, such as ransomware and botnets, among others.

With the flight to remote work happening so suddenly, senior decision makers at small and medium sized businesses simply haven’t come to reality with their cybersecurity capabilities, and in turn, vulnerabilities.