President Joe Biden has urged companies in the United States to toughen their cyber defenses and warned that Russian cyberattacks are possible. However, that won't be easy to do.
US Cybersecurity Prepares for Possible Cyberattack
The United States has been fishing for talent, especially in cybersecurity. It has only worsened as competition in the broader labor market has increased, heightening both companies' potential vulnerability to hackers and the urgency to boost the workforce.
Around one million people work in cybersecurity in the United States, but almost 600,000 positions are unfilled, according to CyberSeek.
Of those 600,000 positions, around 560,000 are in the private sector. In the last year, job openings have increased 29%, more than double the growth rate between 2018 and 2019, according to Gartner TalentNeuron, which keeps an eye on labor market trends.
Also Read : US Announces Partnership With Israel to Address Cybersecurity Measures | Key to End Ransomware War
Jamie Kohn, human resources research director at Gartner Inc., said that the crunch for cybersecurity talent has gotten worse. They initially thought they had five years to get the professionals to fill in the positions, and now they are trying to do the job overnight.
Employees with the technical skills needed to respond to cyber threats were already difficult to come by before the COVID-19 pandemic and were forced to work from home.
But a confluence of events increased the demand for positions like software developers, network engineers, vulnerability testers, and cybersecurity analysts.
With so many employees using their home computers and networks, phishing attempts increased, as did ransomware attacks o businesses, hospitals, organizations, and even schools.
Increasing Ransomware Attacks in the US
A ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline Co. resulted in Americans' panic-buying fuel, eventually leading to supply shortages on the East Coast in 2021, while other high-profile incidents were attributed to hackers supported by adversaries in the country, according to Bloomberg.
In December 2020, investigators revealed a cyber-espionage campaign in which state-sponsored Russian hackers exploited software made by SolarWinds Corps. to infect customers. Russia has since denied its involvement in the matter.
Bryan Palma, chief executive officer of Trellix Corp., said that there are instances within cybersecurity when the market even grows faster and when the demand is hotter. He believed they kicked off one of the cycles with SolarWinds.
Palma added because of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, cybersecurity is growing faster than the average 16% every year, which therefore is driving the need for more skills and professionals in that area.
The cyber worker shortage is a particular issue with smaller companies, from municipalities and law firms to hospitals and businesses, that can't offer high pay to attract high-skilled workers, according to the director of mission programs and partnerships at the SANS Institute Max Shuftan.
Shuftan added that most civilian public agencies couldn't pay what the public sector could. He added that small businesses are not going to have the staff, which makes them more vulnerable to attacks than massive businesses.
In 2020, US cybersecurity warned of the vulnerabilities of smart home devices.
In 2021, ransomware attacks affected the operations of organizations, including a San Diego hospital system, a payroll provider, and the office network of the attorney general of Illinois.
Related Article: CISA Urges Companies To Implement Cybersecurity Measures! Here are the Agency's Suggestions
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Sophie Webster
