3.1 mn jobs shortfall in cybersecurity, skill shortage hits Indian firms

An estimated 3.14 million professionals are needed to fill the global cybersecurity workforce gap globally and in India, the skill shortage has contributed to critical IT positions not being filled, increasing organisations' cyber risks such as breaches, a report warned on Tuesday.

Around 92 per cent of Indian organisations experienced cyber breaches in 2022, underlining an urgent need for cybersecurity skills training, according to the report by cyber-security firm Fortinet.

The '2023 Global Cybersecurity Skills Gap Report' also found that 24 per cent of Indian organisations experienced five or more breaches.

"The report shows that over 80 per cent of respondents find it challenging to hire certified professionals, which puts organisations at risk. To strengthen their security postures and stay ahead of the growing cyber threat landscape, it's essential for organisations to prioritise cybersecurity training and upskilling," said Vishak Raman, Vice President of Sales, India, SAARC and Southeast Asia at Fortinet.

One repercussion of this is that many short-staffed cybersecurity teams are burdened and strained as they try to keep up with thousands of daily threat alerts and attempt to manage disparate solutions to properly protect their organisation's devices and data.

Additionally, as a result of unfilled IT positions due to the cyber skills shortage, the report also found that 84 per cent of organisations in India indicate they face additional cyber risks.

Nearly half of organisations in India (among those surveyed) suffered breaches in the past 12 months that cost more than $1 million to remediate, which is up from 38 per cent of organisations compared to last year's report.

"At the same time, 69 per cent of Indian organisations expect the number of cyberattacks to increase over the next 12 months, further compounding the need to fill crucial cyber positions to help strengthen organisations' security postures," the report added.