4 Steps to Closing the Cybersecurity Skills Gap in Your Organization

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The existence of a cybersecurity skills gap is universally accepted across business, industry and every other sector. All you have to do is look at the working numbers. CyberSeek's Global Security Heatmap identifies over 600,000 cybersecurity job openings in the United States alone. Considering that the same tool only identifies just over a million total employees currently working in cybersecurity, the workforce needs to grow by at least 50% to catch up with demand.

Recognizing the shortage of cybersecurity professionals is one thing. However, identifying the missing skills of the technical teams within your organization is another. And trying to fill those gaps is just as difficult.

Understanding the skills your teams need is the first step to ensuring they can effectively prevent, detect and respond to threats. It can ensure that development teams bring security controls to the design phase. And it can reduce the impact of cyberattacks, both on your organization and on those who use your software.

Here are four key steps you can take to identify skills gaps in your organization.

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register here 1. Build a cybersecurity skills model

Organizations can start by defining the cybersecurity skills needed for each position within your technical teams, outlining the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) required to excel in a given role. A well-designed model will identify the KSAs and associated behaviors needed to establish competence, and prioritize them according to beginner, intermediate, or advanced levels.

Building a competency model is a painstaking process. The required skills it identifies should be aligned with your organization's strategic plan, as well as the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) cybersecurity workforce framework. Before establishing the skills needed for each position, you should review existing job descriptions and solicit feedback from technical team members to get their ideas. You can also use external sources, such as the Department of Labor's career information network (O*Net Online).

Creating a skills model, assessing each team member, and creating a training plan to increase their cybersecurity skills takes time, but it's worth it.

2. Assess and measure cybersecurity skills

With a cybersecurity competency model in place, the next step is to see how your technical teams stack up against that model. A thorough assessment of the skills you have will provide a clear view of the organisation's skiing...