New Fortinet research reveals escalating cyber risks due to the ongoing talent shortage

The global cybersecurity leader Fortinet recently releases its 2023 Global Cybersecurity Skills Gap Report, which reveals ongoing challenges related to the cybersecurity skills shortage affecting organizations worldwide.

According to the report, the cybersecurity skills shortage has contributed to critical IT positions not being filled, which increases organizations’ cyber risks, such as breaches. Cybersecurity remains a priority for boards of directors and there is executive demand for increased IT security headcount.

Technology-focused certifications are highly regarded by employers, serving as validation of skill sets. Organizations recognize the advantage of recruiting and retaining diverse talent to help address the skills shortage, but doing so has presented a challenge.

One resulting cyber risk is increased breaches, with 84% of organizations experiencing one or more cybersecurity intrusions in the past 12 months, up from 80%.

There’s seems be a costly reality of the increasing cybersecurity skills gap. An estimated 3.4 million professionals are needed to fill the global cybersecurity workforce gap. At the same time, the 2023 report found that the number of organizations experiencing five or more breaches jumped by 53% from 2021 to 2022. One repercussion of this is that many short-staffed cybersecurity teams are burdened and strained as they try to keep up with thousands of daily threat alerts and attempt to manage disparate solutions to properly protect their organization’s devices and data.

Besides that, security intrusions are increasing. One resulting cyber risk is increased breaches, with 84% of organizations experiencing one or more cybersecurity intrusions in the past 12 months, up from 80% last year.

More organizations were impacted financially due to breaches. Nearly 50% of organizations suffered breaches in the past 12 months that cost more than $1 million to remediate, which is up from 38% of organizations compared to last year’s report.

The report also suggested that employers recognize how training and certifications can benefit their organization in addressing the skills gap, while also serving as an advantage for anyone looking to advance in their current security profession, as well as for individuals considering transitioning into the field.

To help alleviate the challenges resulting from the skills shortage, Fortinet is committed to helping organizations improve the management of cyber risks with ML-driven automation and services, as well as increased access to cyber training. As part of these efforts, Fortinet has pledged to train 1 million people in cybersecurity by 2026 to help increase access for security professionals and untapped talent pools looking to upskill and reskill.

Nguyen Gia Duc, Country Manager at Fortinet Vietnam said: "Vietnam is among the countries in the Asia-Pacific region with high levels of cyber threats, so it's no surprise that the 2023 Global Cybersecurity Skills Gap Report from Fortinet found that approximately 90% of business leaders in the region are concerned about cybersecurity and are calling for more IT security staff to be hired. Our recent report showed that 98% of APAC leaders prefer to hire individuals with technology-focused certifications. This means that IT staff need to improve themselves or organization leaders need to support employees to get certified.

For organizations in Vietnam, this should serve as an alarm to take practical steps to protect their organizations. One way to do this is by enhancing cybersecurity training for IT teams or hiring people with technology-focused certifications".