A British government report, a study published last year found that 48% of organizations lack the expertise to complete routine cybersecurity practices.
This includes the inability to protect against malware, set access controls, or apply updates.
The report also revealed that 30% of organizations have skill gaps in more advanced areas such as penetration testing, forensic analysis, and security architecture. About the same number (27%) have a skills gap when it comes to incident response.
At first glance, these numbers are hard to believe. The importance of effective cybersecurity is often discussed, and the introduction of the GPDR (General Data Protection Regulation) has created severe penalties for organizations that fail to protect themselves.
So why can’t organizations address the basics of cybersecurity? The solution, it turns out, isn’t as easy as you might think.
Where are the cybersecurity experts?
When an organization needs people with a particular skill set, it often hires new employees.
In theory, this is no exception when it comes to cybersecurity. Whether you’re in a top-level role such as CISO (Chief Information Security Officer) or a member of an IT team responsible for security-related tasks, there are many positions that are suitable for different levels of seniority and experience.
The problem is that the demand for cybersecurity professionals is greater than the supply. Organizations compete for the same skilled professionals. This means professionals can demand higher salaries.
This inflates the economic value of cybersecurity skills, and some smaller organizations cannot afford to hire new talent.
Another way is to build an internal security team and encourage employees in security-related roles such as IT to take cybersecurity training courses.
However, this will be a long-term project and may undermine the strength of existing IT resources.
Additionally, they may treat cybersecurity as an IT issue and ignore other requirements.
For example, your IT pros may be familiar with implementing cloud databases, but do your employees have the skills to create a process to configure it correctly?
To ensure that both the human and technical aspects of cybersecurity are addressed, you need to appoint someone who understands all types of threats.
But what if external candidates are hard to come by and internal training takes too long?
The answer is Cyber Security as a Service.
What is Cyber Security as a Service?
Cyber Security as a Service allows organizations to outsource defenses to third parties.
Depending on the service, a team of experts will be assigned to manage some or all of the technology, processes and policies.
This is becoming an increasingly popular option. Recent Field effect software survey: “We found that 27% of respondents are looking to outsource some or all of their cybersecurity operations.
By comparison, 24% say they are investing in ongoing cybersecurity education, and 23% say they are increasing their IT or security budget.”
If you’re considering an outsourcing approach, check out Cybersecurity as a Service.
With this annual subscription service, our experts advise you on how best to protect your organization. Experts guide you through vulnerability scanning, staff training, and creating policies and procedures that form the backbone of an effective security strategy. It also helps answer any questions, identify and resolve gaps, and regularly review progress.
