By Afolabi Oluwatobi, Lagos
Year 2016 saw an infiltration of over three billion records, which looks awful on paper but even worse in reality, this year has also experienced its fair share of attacks.
From reconnaissance, malware attacks, ransoms, session hijacking and even extortion attempts. 2017 is left with less than three months, yet several organizations have been attacked, millions of systems penetrated and a wealth of classified hacking tools leaked .
Corey White, senior vice president of professional services at cyber-security software firm Cylance, and chairman of the CompTIA Cyber-security Advisory Board, Said “The increase in extremely damaging data breaches has certainly led to an increase in demand for skilled cyber-security workers and leading-edge services,” White continued. “We are among many companies who will always be looking to hire highly qualified, well-trained professionals.”
According to the cyber-security jobs supply and demand map CyberSeek.org, there were nearly 300,000 job postings for cyber-security positions in the roughly 12-month period from mid-2016 to mid-2017.
Which is why the U.S. information technology (IT) sector added an estimated 3,200 new jobs in September, countering employment slowdowns in other areas of the economy, according to an analysis by CompTIA, the world’s leading technology association.
Computer and electronic products manufacturing recorded its best month for employment in 2017, adding 3,000 jobs, the monthly “CompTIA IT Employment Tracker” reveals.
While the monthly BLS employment report does not break-out cyber-security occupations, job posting data and surveys of business leaders suggest continued strong demand for cyber-security expertise across the economy.
“Whether short-term job numbers rise or fall, there is simply no question that IT and specifically IT security specialists are going to remain in extremely high demand,” He said.
“Additionally, because every IT worker, and even most knowledge workers, have some level of involvement in cyber-security, demand for cyber-security skills is much broader than the dedicated cyber-security roles reflected in the job posting data,” said Herbert.
The importance of cyber-security readiness is heightened during October, designated as National Cyber Security Awareness Month by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
