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The increasing skills gap in cyber security is forcing businesses to consider taking on convicted criminals and hackers, says a new study.
As part of the research, KPMG posed questions to 300 senior HR and IT professionals in firms with more than 500 employees, and discovered that most are uncertain as to how to fix the problem. Past estimates say that there will be two million additional cyber security professionals needed by the year 2017.
Around 74 per cent of firms said cyber challenges that they haven’t experienced before require a fresh set of skills, with 64 per cent conceding that such skills are not those provided by traditional IT experience.
Some of these firms are even considering alternative solutions, with 53 per cent saying they would look at employing a hacker or even a convicted criminal. KPMG, however, feels that the move would be an unwise one.
Serena Gonsalves-Fersch, who heads the Cyber Security Academy for KPMG, said in her statement:
“The increasing awareness of the cyber threat means the majority of UK companies are clear on their strategy for dealing with any skills gaps. However, they wouldn’t hire pickpockets to be security guards, so the fact that companies are considering former hackers as recruits clearly shows how desperate they are to stay ahead of the game.”
The safest solution would be to stick to the traditional route. The Government is aware of the skills shortage and is currently addressing it. For now, there are a number of trained security professionals capable of filling new cyber security jobs.
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