Sky is the Limit for Cybersecurity Professionals
According to Bureau of Labor Statistics report which was released by Peninsula Press, revealed that there is an acute shortage of cybersecurity professionals in the United States of America. The demand for these professionals is growing rapidly in the US as well as global markets.
The report also indicated that more than 209,000 cyber security jobs in the United States are unfilled, and there has been a sharp rise in the number job postings.
“Forbes.com survey also revealed that the cybersecurity market is expected to grow from $75 billion in 2015 to $170 billion by 2020.”
“Demand is expected to rise to 6 million globally by 2019, with a projected shortfall of 1.5 million.” (Michael Brown, CEO at Symantec, the world’s largest security software vendor).
Some Key Findings
Primera Blue Cross - March 2015
The company, a health insurer based in Washington State, said up to 11 million customers could have been affected by a cyber attack last year. Hackers gained access to its computers on May 5, and the breach was not discovered until Jan. 29, Primera said. The breach could have exposed members' names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, mailing and email addresses, phone numbers and bank account information. The company is working with the F.B.I. and a cybersecurity firm to investigate.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/02/05/technology/recent-cyberattacks.html?_r=0
Anthem
February 2015
One of the nation’s largest health insurers said that the personal information of tens of millions of its customers and employees, including its chief executive, was the subject of a “very sophisticated external cyber attack.” The company added that hackers were able to breach a database that contained as many as 80 million records of current and former customers, as well as employees. The information accessed included names, Social Security numbers, birthdays, addresses, email and employment information, including income data.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/02/05/technology/recent-cyberattacks.html?_r=0
Reasons For Sharp Rise In Demand For Cybersecurity Professionals
Network outages, data breaches, computer viruses, cyber terror, these are the news reports we have been listening in the recent times. So, people with little or no knowledge about information technology must be wondering what all these words meant and why it created a panic situation. Well, for those who are not aware of this, it is called as cyber attacks. These attacks aim to disturb internet services or steal personal or highly confidential data or information causing far-reaching damage. The motives behind such attacks can be either social or political.
These attacks are carried out primarily via the internet. Anyone can become victims of these attacks, it can be the general public or national and corporate organizations. Cyber-attacks have been on the rise in the recent years, and it has snowballed into a big threat not only to the private establishments but also government establishments. The F.B.I. has rated cybercrime as one of the top law enforcement activities. The US President has also proposed a $ 14 billion budget for cybersecurity. Cybersecurity is what every organization is concerned about. This clearly indicates the lethality of cyber crime.
Whether it’s a government owned or a private organization each one wants to secure their data and safeguard it from cyber attacks. Due to increase in the number of cyber attacks in the recent years has created a huge demand for cybersecurity professionals. Recently, the survey report of Burning Glass Technologies revealed that the demand for cybersecurity professionals has surged in the recent times and has grown more than 3.5 times faster than the demand for other IT jobs over the past five years (Here's the career guide that can walk you through the cyber security certification). The report suggests an acute shortage of cybersecurity professionals, and it is estimated to be in between 20k and 40k. There are predictions that these numbers will further go up very quickly in the future.
Career Prospects Of Cybersecurity Professional
For the professionals who are already in this field, can hope for brighter prospects such as, increased job opportunities, higher pay scale to name a few. Cybersecurity is also a good option for the budding professionals, as it looks very promising. They can start their career as information security analyst. US News and World Report has rated information security analysis career as eighth on its list of the 100 best jobs in 2015.
Cybersecurity Professional Salaries
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, on an average, an information security analyst holding a bachelor degree earns approximately 88, 890 per year. The lowest 10 percent earned less than 50,300, and the highest 10 percent earned more than 140,460. If we look at the salary information of Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) in top six US Metros published by SilverBull, we can infer that the cybersecurity professionals will have higher pay packages in the near future.
SilverBull list of CISO salaries in top six US metros:
1. San Francisco, California: Average CISO salary is $249,000, and ranges from $154,000 up to $380,000
2. San Jose, California: Average CISO salary is $240,000, and ranges from $149,000 to $368,000
3. New York City, New York: Average CISO salary is $240,000, and ranges from $149,000 to $367,000
4. Washington, DC: Average CISO salary is $225,000, and ranges from $139,000 to $334,000
5. Los Angeles, California: Average CISO salary is $233,000, and ranges from $138,000 to $341,000
6. Chicago, Illinois: Average CISO salary is $214,000, and ranges from $132,000 to $328,000
Conclusion:
Now that cybersecurity has become critical for government and private business establishments as well, the demand for cybersecurity professionals is very high to fortify confidential data and also to anticipate attackers modus operandi. Its good time for both experienced and entry level professionals to consider cybersecurity as the career because the opportunities in this field are very high.