What’s behind the rise in cyber intelligence recruitment?

Cyber intelligence is a relatively new sector, but was found to be one of the fastest-growing in terms of recruitment in our latest Barclay Simpson 2016 Security & Resilience Market Report.

 

It’s also one of the fastest to be expanding in terms of monetary value, with figures from Markets and Markets predicting that the digital intelligence sector will be worth a total of $170.21 billion (£121.92 billion) by 2020.

 

With such extensive growth forecast for the next few years, there is guaranteed to be an increase in opportunities for individuals with cyber security and intelligence expertise.

 

But where has this seemingly booming industry come from? And how can recruiters make sure they are utilising the best talent available?

The rise of cyber intelligence

As the world has become increasingly digital over the past couple of decades, and intensely so during the last five to ten years, cyber security breaches have become more sophisticated, and, as a result, more damaging for the businesses affected.

 

In the past, the majority of IT-related positions were in software design, product development or technician roles, but as both technology and the attacks on it have become increasingly complex, there has been a colossal rise in the number of cyber intelligence jobs advertised in the permanent market, as well as among contractors.

 

Our latest sector report revealed that the financial and banking sectors in particular were upping their recruitment of digital intelligence professionals for the months ahead – a move that is likely to have been spurred by the recent high-profile hacks affecting TalkTalk and controversial dating site Ashley Madison.

 

Altogether, we found that the majority (68 per cent) of financial security and resilience departments have been looking to take on extra staff over the past six months, with just 46 per cent stating that they are not currently utilising the services of specialist cyber intelligence contractors.

 

What’s more, our report led to the discovery that one-third (33 per cent) of businesses have been given more money than last year to spend on recruiting cyber security experts, demonstrating the growing importance that firms are placing on this area.

Why your organisation needs a cyber intelligence expert

Many businesses believe that they’ve already got cyber security covered, even though there is technically no way to ever be 100 per cent protected against an attack. However, there are steps that can be taken to ensure an organisation’s cyber risk profile is kept to an absolute minimum and that staff are prepared to deal with a breach when it happens.

 

One of the most effective ways to do this is by recruiting a cyber intelligence expert. This sector is about more than security – it’s about staying ahead of the game to keep an eye out for potential threats and taking action to combat these.

 

The cost of the financial and reputational damage associated with cyber breaches is constantly increasing, and firms are waking up to this, hence the increase in recruitment in this field that we discovered in our report.

 

Our Market Reports combine our review of the prevailing conditions in the security & resilience recruitment market together with the results of our latest employer survey.

 

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