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A recent study predicted that there will be 1.8 million open jobs in the cybersecurity field by 2022

Lack of Cybersecurity Professionals is Troublesome for Businesses

By Colby Conway on Jul 5, 2017
image of a hacker The number of Cybersecurity professionals is dwindling and according to the Center for Cyber Safety and Education, there will be 1.8 million open cybersecurity jobs by 2022. Knowledge of cybersecurity is extremely low and this lack of awareness could be a major reason as to why the demand of the field is outweighing the supply.

Bryan Christiansen is co-editor-in-chief of the International Journal of ICT Research in Africa and the Middle East, International Journal of Productivity Management and Assessment Technologies and the book series, Advances in Digital Crime, Forensics, and Cyber Terrorism. He is also the CEO of Tactical Systems, LLC, an Indiana-based company that designs and implements electronic and physical security systems. As a Registered US Government Contractor and IBM Business Partner, Christiansen weighed in on the impact of a vital field that is under-staffed across the board.

“The shortage of cybersecurity professionals will mean big problems for businesses but for individuals already in the field it will mean more job security and probably more pay [but with additional responsibilities],” says Christiansen.

Since Christiansen’s company designs security software for both physical and electronic attacks, it’s important to discuss the difference between physical crime and cybercrime. Can cybercrime be just as dangerous, if not more, than physical crime, given the nature of the modern, interconnected world?

“The primary difference between cybercrime and physical crime such as muggings or property break-ins is one of cost or loss,” says Christiansen. He continues by stating that cybercrime could potentially be far greater, “especially with regards to speed of loss due to IT systems.” However, it is important to note the psychological and emotional impact is severe in both instances.

A shortage of cybersecurity professionals is alarming due to how quickly cybercrime can spread and how much damage it can do in a limited amount of time.

“Cybercrime has the potential to affect thousands or millions of people,” says Christiansen. “The scope of physical crime is less but the psychological and physical damage is still severe.”

One example can be found in the WannaCry ransom attack of mid-May this year, which affected roughly 200,000 computers in 150 countries in only a few days.

Many aspects of our daily lives are common sense tasks, including washing our hands after using the bathroom and brushing your teeth in the morning, but when it comes to cybercrime, there’s no such thing. Last year, Keeper Security took a look at 10 million passwords stolen in data breaches, and 1.7 million of those passwords were “123456.” This cyber illiteracy will continue to be a major problem and if things don’t improve, there could be more large-scale cyber attacks.

Given the limited knowledge about cybercrime and cybersecurity, what are the risks it poses? How does cybercrime differ from physical crime? What protocols should businesses take to ensure that their, and their customer’s, information is safeguarded to a near-maximum extent? Christiansen speaks about how businesses are in trouble if their protections against cybercrime aren’t improved.

“Businesses will suffer because their IT systems will remain under threat from hackers and other intruders (professional or otherwise),” says Christiansen.

And there it is. How can one discuss cybercrime or cyber security without mentioning hackers or hacking. Hackers pose a serious threat, but it’s important to understand that there is such an activity known as “ethical hacking.”

hacker stealing credit card “The primary difference between traditional hacking and ‘ethical hacking’ is in intent,” says Christiansen. “The former is about creating damage while the latter is about trying to prevent potential damage.”

Businesses can use “ethical hackers” to their advantage. By hiring an ethical hacker, a business can understand the weak points in their security system(s) and take appropriate action. The ethical hacker, or penetration tester, will actually attempt to hack the company’s software, intranet, etc. Even the FBI was looking for these types of cyber agents.

There are other steps businesses can take as well.

“Within the reality of the dwindling number of cybersecurity experts, businesses should consider alternative ways to secure their information, such as encryption with limited personnel access and/or retaining the most critical data in off-site locations, similar to what is done with Top Secret information, which is always compartmentalized,” says Christiansen, who has been approved in the past for that level of security clearance for the US State Department.

Not only are the number of cybersecurity experts declining, but the awareness of cybersecurity knowledge is alarmingly low. Take this quiz and see how much you know. The results are shocking, to say the least.

It’s typically never a good situation when the demand greatly outweighs the supply, but in terms of cybersecurity professionals, it’s even worse. Cyber attacks are ruthless, and if businesses in particular are unable to effectively combat this, a rocky road lies ahead.
IGI Global would like to thank Bryan Christiansen for taking time out of his busy schedule to discuss his thoughts on the current state and future of the cybersecurity field. Please take a moment to view some of his titles below.
Newsroom Contact
Caroline Campbell
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ccampbell@igi-global.com
(717) 533-8845, ext. 144
www.igi-global.com/
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