Fortinet recently released its 2022 Cybersecurity Skills Gap Report to underline some of the IT talent concerns, challenges and repercussions for organisations in Asia. The report reveals that the cybersecurity skills shortage continues to be detrimental to organisations with an online presence and digital assets. Some of the critical downstream effects include the rapid occurrence of security breaches and subsequently loss of money.Â
As a result, the skills gap remains a top concern for C-level executives and is increasingly becoming a board-level priority. The report which surveyed IT and cybersecurity decision makers across countries such as Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia also suggests ways the skills gap can be addressed, such as through training and certifications to increase employees’ education.
The Widespread Impact of the Cybersecurity Skills Shortage
According to the 2021 Cyber Workforce Report, the Asia-Pacific has the largest regional workforce gap of 1.42 million, despite a decrease from the previous year. With the rising costs of breaches on organisations’ profits and reputations, cybersecurity is becoming more of a board-level priority.
Across Asia, 89% of organisations that have a board of directors reported that their board asks questions specifically about cybersecurity. And 79% of organisations have a board of directors who has recommended increases in IT and cybersecurity headcount.
Source: https://www.fortinet.com/content/dam/fortinet/assets/reports/report-2022-skills-gap-survey.pdf?utm_source=pr&utm_campaign=report-2022-skills-gap-survey
Advancing skills through training and certifications
Besides valuing certifications, 93 percent of organisations have training programmes to increase cyber awareness. However, 51 percent of leaders believe their employees still lack necessary knowledge, which raises questions on the effectiveness of their current security awareness program.
Training and certifications are critical ways organisations seek to further tackle the skills gap. 97% of leaders believe technology-focused certifications positively impact their role and their team, while 86% of leaders prefer to hire people with certifications.
Organisations can improve their security awareness training through the Fortinet Training Institute. This would further protect the organisations’ digital assets from cyber threats by building employee cybersecurity awareness.
