The security industry is on the verge of a technology crisis. Cyberattacks occur approximately every 39 seconds, and every business needs a well-trained workforce to protect them. And there are not enough experts to move.
According to a recent survey, 70% of organizations believe a lack of skills has affected them, and 45% of organizations believe the situation has worsened over the years. Another global study predicts a severe shortage of 1.8 million security workers by 2022. Why is there such a gap?
There are many reasons to be the culprit, but it starts with a lack of training. Basic IT training is not sufficient to cover security, making it impossible for most people to respond to or detect security threats without comprehensive training.
The National Security Agency (NSA) has put a lot of effort into creating cybersecurity programs at several universities. However, less than half (42%) of the top 50 computer science courses in the US include security courses for undergraduates. Demand for talent is high, so those who are trained can get the highest rewards and can work wherever they want.
Not all companies can afford high prices, so they often lose to those with high prices. The organization is in a difficult situation. The future is so bleak, how can you fill the void?
Artificial intelligence (AI). This is one of the industry’s greatest hopes and could ease the pressure of the safety skills shortage.
Three ways AI can Fill the Skills Gap
- Take over routine and repetitive tasks. AI thrives in environments where there are a lot of mundane tasks. Many IT security operations fit this description. They are time-consuming and costly and take teams hours, days, weeks, or more to accomplish. AI can eliminate a lot of the monotonous work and reduce the load, so fewer experts are needed.
- Hunt threats. Traditionally very time-consuming and expensive, threat hunting typically relies on manual tracking to identify risks waiting in the wings of a business’ network. Automating this job using AI, especially when integrated with behavioral analysis, can shorten the time it takes from recognizing the threat and then doing something about it.
- Automate incident responses. Manually identifying and responding to incidents is difficult and time-consuming. AI helps detect attacks — both novel and familiar ones. The technology handles responses without any human interaction and helps the system learn to predict where issues may occur before they even happen.
The ability of AI to analyze large amounts of data and do so on a scale can alleviate some of the pressure on internal cybersecurity teams, especially as many of them are understaffed when faced with potential threats, every day. But let’s be clear, AI is not replacing cybersecurity experts. Human monitoring of AI is important in adhering to privacy and ethical standards. As AI begins to anticipate and take action on customers who appear to be threatening, human managers need to ensure that they do not make decisions that violate trust and confidence.
In addition, the people behind the technology need to monitor the data and decide on what is right and what is wrong with the data. Poor data can lead to poor decisions and responses, so it is necessary to train the AI system to use the correct data for the team. Industrial scarcity is an issue that is projected to grow.
If make work companies can use AI as a stopgap to ease the pressure and easier, repetitive and routine, it can make a big difference to the employee model. The use of AI requires experts who can access and identify the best use cases and keep the company in compliance with data and privacy laws.
However, organizations can come out with some of the most knowledgeable teams that can provide value without depleting existing resources. The last thing you want to do is address a gap in skills by putting more pressure on your people. This model gives employees a place to focus on what is about to happen — stopping attackers in their path.
