CyberSecurity Industry Sees Continued Growth

“In 2015, 34.2% of computers were attacked at least once while their owners were online.” (Garnaeva, et al.) This statistic alone should be reason enough to make someone think twice about his/her own personal cybersecurity. Especially because this stat and others similar to it have caused many businesses and even the President of the United States, to rethink cybersecurity on another level.

President Obama has allotted over $19 billion for cybersecurity in his projected 2017 Budget. That is more than a 35% increase over the 2016 budget. Mr. Obama has chosen to beef up cybersecurity in the US for good reason, as cybercrime is one of fastest growing criminal activities worldwide. With cybersecurity threats becoming more widespread, companies everywhere have begun implementing strategies and positions within their infrastructure to combat the rising risk of a cyber attack.

There have been some recent surveys conducted by SpiceWorks with interesting findings. One survey of over 600 IT professionals in the U.S. and U.K. indicated that only 29% of the surveyed organizations have a cyber security expert working in their IT department. This survey also revealed that another 23% of participating organizations contract with external cybersecurity firms (like LMG). So where does that leave the other 48% of organizations? Certainly they have extremely tech savvy employees in their IT departments; but without formal security training there may be vulnerabilities even the most competent IT professional could miss.

Is trusting your cybersecurity to untrained IT employees a risk worth taking? Many industry leading companies and the United States Federal Government have decided the answer to that question is a resounding ‘No.’

According to an article in aviationweek.com, a recent survey highlighted that “72% of the 200 airline participants are investing in major cyber security projects”. Another article from xconomy.com states that, “San Diego’s cybersecurity workforce has grown by nearly 15 percent over the past two years”. These are just two examples among many of how the cybersecurity industry is growing within the U.S. economy.

As cybercrime continues to rise it creates a vacuum in the cybersecurity industry. Positions continue to open up as organizations search for qualified candidates to protect the sensitive information in their possession. The vacuum in the cybersecurity industry is only enhanced by the fact that U.S. higher education is failing to effectively implement cybersecurity training in Computer Science programs. Sarah White from CIO.com says, “The report … revealed that out of the top 10 computer science programs in the U.S., not a single program requires a cybersecurity course to graduate. And on the list of Business Insider’s top 50 computer science programs, only three schools out of the 50 require a cybersecurity course for graduation.”

Cybercrime is increasing at an alarming rate, but it is encouraging to see both the government and private sector taking big steps to improve the security of everyone’s information by supporting cybersecurity growth. With the Internet of Things (IoT) becoming a bigger reality daily, the surface of available attack vectors is expanding as more devices are connected to the Web. Recently, professional hackers have even developed Ransomware strains developed to target smart thermostats and smart refrigerators, according to an article on Motherboard.com. This malware allows the hackers to change the settings and lock your smart device with a ransom note displayed on the screen. The note will remain there until the ransom is paid, usually in bitcoin, to the attacker via an online transfer. If a thermostat can be infected, who knows what’s next! It’s best to take security precautions on all of your connected devices.

The cybersecurity industry needs more trained professionals to help stop the bleeding and shore up the holes in the armor that protects your sensitive data. If you have any questions or comments about the current state or future of the cybersecurity industry, contact us at [email protected]