SECURE horizons
By Jess Abell , our Director of Strategic Content
In this column , we ’ ll be discussing key issues for CISOs and their teams – from AI to wellbeing and from Zero Trust to communication . If you ’ d like to get in touch , email jess @ lynchpinmedia . com
This , she said , enables organisations to not only tap into a wider talent pool , but also foster an environment of innovative thinking and problem-solving , drawing from a range of perspectives , educational backgrounds , life experiences and skillsets .
“ Companies that embrace diversity often see improved outcomes in cybersecurity efforts and overall organisational resilience ; ‘ hackers ’ are not a homogenous group ; therefore , security teams should not be either ,” she said .
“ Look beyond traditional schooling and minimum career experience to see skills , qualifications , experiences and abilities gained from shorter programmes , online certificates , other jobs and participation in cybersecurity communities that support core foundational understanding of systems and their vulnerabilities .”
Camellia Chan , CEO and Co-founder , Flexxon , agreed that diversity has an important role to play in plugging the skills gap , highlighting the lack of female cybersecurity professionals in post .
“ In fact , only 17 % of Chief Information Security Office ( CISO ) roles were held by women in Fortune 500 companies in 2022 ,” she said . “ By not addressing this , leaders are ignoring a huge proportion of a potential workforce that could be trained to fill roles that are suffering from a lack of specialist skills .
“ Additionally , greater diversity , whether it ’ s gender , race , or sexual orientation , can help to provide fresh perspectives and confront the ever-evolving threats posed by cybercriminals today . Implementing diversity and inclusion policies that foster a welcoming workplace environment are a must .”
Mike Smith , CTO at Vercara , suggests that military veterans are equipped with a transferable skillset including the likes of project management that could be highly beneficial for the security industry .
“ I have a Cyber Threat Analyst that retired from the US army after 23 years in the intelligence field . We got him on a free four-month internship from the army through a program called Skillbridge . It was a great way to evaluate their skills before we took them on as a permanent hire ,” he explained .
Finally , Sohail Iqbal , CISO , Veracode , highlighted how it ’ s now possible to look further afield for talent thanks to advances in remote work .
“ Where we used to focus our hiring around local universities and colleges , building a pipeline where the best young talent leaves education and comes straight to us , we ’ re now having to look further out ,” he said .
“ The ability to work remotely has made that a possibility , as where before we wanted talent in close vicinity to our offices , we can now recruit from all around the country , and even the world .”
It ’ s clear that there is no single definitive answer to addressing the cyberskills challenge but , through a combination of intelligent technology and automation , diversity and inclusion schemes , organisations can go some way towards reducing the impact of the talent shortage and foster an environment of innovation and resilience for their existing teams .
Camellia Chan , CEO and Co-founder , Flexxon
Mike Smith , CTO at Vercara
Sohail Iqbal , CISO , Veracode
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