Organizations looking to build cybersecurity teams by attempting to recruit “all stars” need to reevaluate their strategy and adjust expectations. With the current cybersecurity workforce gap estimated at 3.1 million worldwide, it is too daunting – or for many, nearly impossible – to find candidates with all the skills and experience that organizations often seek. The (ISC)2 Cybersecurity Career Pursuers Study delivers guidance on how to find strong candidates despite the scarcity of available talent. The report suggests organizations take a pragmatic approach to recruitment by zeroing in on qualities such as analytical thinking, problem solving and creativity, which foreshadow success in cybersecurity roles, as opposed to overly focusing on technical prowess and experience. By polling 2,034 current cybersecurity professionals

With cyber attacks against financial and banking institutions now a daily occurrence, cyber threats have become the biggest risk to the global financial system, according to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. During an interview on CBS News’ 60 Minutes, Powell said cyber risks surpass even the types of lending and liquidity risks that led to the Great Recession in 2008. The chances of a financial collapse akin to 2008 are “very low,” he said. “But the world changes, the world evolves, and the risks change as well. The risk we keep our eyes on the most is cyber risk.” If hackers succeeded in shutting down a major payment processor, which would seriously disrupt the flow of money between financial institutions,

Since the first seed was sown back in 2016, work has been underway to create an independent body to support growth and professionalism within the U.K.’s cybersecurity education, training and skills activities. Now, that body has come into being in the form of the U.K. Cyber Security Council. (ISC)² staff and members have been involved in this project since 2018 and have been diligently working alongside volunteers from other organizations on the Council Formation Project, which concludes today following more than 18 months of work. What does this mean for members, associates or those yet to begin their cybersecurity career journey? The Council will support (ISC)2 and other organizations involved in cybersecurity skills and education, helping with additional tools and

On March 8, 2021, in celebration of International Women’s Day, five accomplished female security professionals met for a wide-ranging and spirited panel discussion on how to encourage more women to join the cybersecurity field, and provided highlights from their own journeys in the profession. The panel was moderated by Sharon Smith, CISSP, cybersecurity strategy and advisory consultant, and included the following security industry leaders: Clar Rosso, CEO, (ISC)² Aanchal Gupta, CISSP, vice president of Azure Security, Microsoft Lori Ross O’Neil, CISSP, senior ICS cyber security researcher & project manager, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, vice chairperson, (ISC)² Board of Directors Megan Hargrove, CISSP, cyber security incident response manager, Tech Data Today, roughly 25% of cybersecurity professionals globally are women, and on

Organizations in all industries and sectors are becoming less confident in their cloud security posture because of the complexity involved with multiple cloud environments and the expanded threat landscape. As a result, they seek accredited cloud security professionals to address these challenges. The (ISC)2 2020 Cybersecurity Workforce Study indicates 40% of industry professionals plan to pursue cloud security training within the next 2 years. Are you among them? Explore how cloud security training and certification can give your career a buzz – and arm you for an intergalactic emergency. Read the Blog