Survey Sees Rising Demand for Senior Cybersecurity Pros in Age of AI
A global survey of 2,750 cybersecurity and IT professionals published this week finds that for the third consecutive year a lack of cybersecurity skills is cited as the top cause of security breaches (56%), with 51% reporting they specifically need ind
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A global survey of 2,750 cybersecurity and IT professionals published this week finds that for the third consecutive year a lack of cybersecurity skills is cited as the top cause of security breaches (56%), with 51% reporting they specifically need individuals with senior-level skills.Conducted by Sapio Research on behalf of Fortinet, the survey, however, also finds that despite the need for additional human expertise, nearly half of respondents (49%) report they struggle to get approval to hire additional cybersecurity talent.Specifically, respondents said their organization needs staff with new skillsets to support their adoption of AI, including AI model development (55%), AI tool oversight (54%), and security automation (52%). In total, 60% of respondents identify finding cybersecurity talent with specific experience in AI as their top security challenge. A full 92% also said their organization would pay for an employee to get AI certifications.Melonia da Gama, director of training and learning programs for Fortinet, said that while hiring remains a challenge it’s apparent that more organizations are allocating resources to training versus expecting employees to acquire those skills mainly on their own. The expectation is those programs and initiatives will enable existing cybersecurity teams to level up, she added.For example, 59% of respondents said they are investing in internal retraining and upskilling initiatives. However, 58% also said they are looking to hire new employees with AI skills. Overall, 87% expect to either significantly (39%) or slightly (48%) increase the size of their cybersecurity teams.Adoption of AI tools and platforms in the meantime is accelerating, with 91% reporting their organization is already using (49%) or experimenting (46%) with AI-powered cybersecurity solutions, with 84% reporting AI-enhanced security tools are helping IT and security teams be more effective and efficient. In fact, the percentage of respondents who are still skeptical or uncertain about AI is 38%, down from 43% when a similar skills survey was conducted. Only 42%, however, said they trust AI enough to manage tasks independently and 50% still have privacy and security concerns.It’s not clear to what degree adversaries are adopting AI but it’s all but certain an AI arms race is now underway, with 44% of respondents citing the need to defend against AI cybersecurity attacks as a top concern. Additionally, only half (50%) of respondents believe their board members are fully aware of potential risks from AI use. Nearly two thirds (63%) expect a greater need for AI oversight and governance roles on cybersecurity teams over the next three years.The fundamental issue, of course, is that many cybersecurity teams are already struggling. A full 86% of respondents report their organization suffered one or more breaches in the past 12 months. More than half (52%) said breaches cost them more than $1 million, with $2 million being the average cost of a breach in North America.Precisely how many cybersecurity professionals will be needed per organization in the age of AI is still pretty much anyone’s guess. The one thing that is certain is that as the overall size of the attack surfaces that need to be defended continues to increase, there will still be a need for humans to make sense of all the carnage that will increasingly occur at machine speed.
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