Cybersecurity will defy the tech recession hurting other job roles in 2023, c-suite survey suggests.  

Every department loses good people in a recession or economic downturn, unless you work in cybersecurity in 2023 it seems. According to a new (ISC)² report and survey of 1,000 global c-suite executives in the U.S., U.K., Germany, Japan, and Singapore, cybersecurity will be the best place to work in the year ahead as job losses hit other departments and job roles. The report, How the Cybersecurity Workforce Will Weather a Recession , assesses the impact of a potential economic downturn on cybersecurity teams. 

Across the regions surveyed, 42% of managers predicted cybersecurity headcount would increase, 46% thought it would remain the same, with only 10% believing it would fall. This was in contrast to the worst-performing department, HR, with 30% predicting job losses in that function. Other departments showing weak sentiment included finance at 24%, with both sales and marketing mentioned by 22% of respondents. 

Cybersecurity on the Rebound 

Where jobs are lost, cybersecurity scored well on re-hiring with 51% of all respondents stating this role would be prioritized for re-hiring, just ahead of IT on 49%. “Nearly three quarters of respondents (74%) were open to recruiting cybersecurity talent laid off elsewhere should the opportunity present itself,” the report noted. 

What might explain the positive sentiment around cybersecurity? Most executives believed that losing cybersecurity skills would be a false economy at a time when digital crime is going in the wrong direction, with 87% of executives believing that losing cybersecurity people would increase organizational risk. The specter of recession itself appeared to be another influence, with eight in 10 believing a weakening local or global economy would cause cyberattacks to increase, echoing what happened during the pandemic.   

More Automation 

However, it’s not all positive news for cybersecurity professionals. Four in 10 expected cybersecurity teams would be required to work longer hours, 30% foresaw a freeze on pay rises and promotion, while 28% believed a recession might lead to more outsourcing. Only 8% thought that a recession would have no impact at all on their cybersecurity department.  

Any form of economic downturn will accelerate changes already underway within the sector. An example of this is the rise of more sophisticated automation, which 41% predicted would impact cybersecurity. “C-suite executives are reluctant to cut their cybersecurity teams and say they will do what they can to retain talent and shield teams from downsizing for as long as they can,” according to the report. 

At some point, a recession or downturn will end and organizations will again struggle to find cybersecurity talent to refill roles. The context for this is the recent rise in the number of people employed in cybersecurity with the (ISC)²  Cybersecurity Workforce Study noting a 165% increase in the size of the German cybersecurity workforce in 2021 alone.