UK Organisations Worried Over Lack of Cyber Security Skills In-House

New research from disaster recovery company Databarracks has shown that close to half (47%) of organisations in the UK believe their in-house skills are inadequate to combat cyber attacks.

The numbers are sourced from this year’s Data Health Check survey, which posed questions to more than 350 IT bosses.

The report, released in September, showed that two in three (66%) of those who took part in the survey had been subjected to cyber crime within the last 12 months. Only 53% of organisations feel that their team possesses the sufficient skills required to respond to a cyber attack. The survey’s results reflect a study from the UK government, which in 2015 officially listed cyber security under the skills shortage register.

Databarracks manager of technical operations, Oscar Arean, said:

“The increase of cyber threats on UK organisations matches exactly what we see day-to-day – just a third of the respondents in our study remained unscathed by an attack in the last 12 months. Reassuringly though, the number of people looking to improve their security policies is increasing year on year, with a third of respondents in 2016 admitting they had reviewed policies and made changes following an attack, as opposed to 29% in 2014.

“I was not surprised to see the number of organisations with concerns about internal cyber security skills, especially in light of the government’s findings from last year.”

He went on to express a lack of surprise over the high number of companies worried over in-house security skills, especially after the government’s research from last year. All organisations should be concerned over a cyber threat, said Arean, adding that there are certain steps that they can take in order to be better prepared to handle threats.

In the past 12 months, more than 50% of respondents to the survey have spent on new safeguards designed specifically for defending against cyber attacks. Continuous cyber security awareness training, software for monitoring cyber threats, and cyber security guidelines were the more popular investments.

Arean concluded by saying that he is encouraged to see organisations reviewing and modifying security policies after an attack. He said that they need to be more proactive, however, and that investing in sound prevention practices is preferable to paying a higher price later.

Cyber threats are more prevalent now that they ever have been, with hackers continually working on updating their skills and technology in order to steal data from businesses. Some are just looking to cause havoc to prove to themselves and their peers how capable and destructive they can be, while others actually look to acquire data or other assets.

More and more businesses are understandably looking to defend themselves against these attacks, which explains the skills shortage. Technology is one aspect of cyber defence, but possessing the in-house skills necessary to maximise that technology is key. Businesses need to be creating cyber security jobs and doing their best to ensure that they fill them with the many talented individuals out there.