Should you be looking into cybersecurity as a job for the future?

• With the ever-increasing reliance on technology in both personal and business contexts, it is no surprise that the demand for cybersecurity professionals is on the rise. 
• There are 3.4 million more skilled cybersecurity professionals needed globally right now, according to a study.
• The unclear and undefined path to a career in cybersecurity could be considered one of the most critical barriers to entry. 
• For more stories, visit the tech and trends homepage.

What is cybersecurity and is there really a demand? 

We spoke to the research group leader for cybersecurity systems at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Billy Petzer, and asked him to give us a brief, yet all encompassing, definition for exactly what cybersecurity is. 

“At a very high level, cybersecurity would refer to securing information or systems that are accessible online, but of course there’s much more that feeds into it than this,” he says. 

“Right now, it’s more than just about protecting information or access to systems. Because cyber crimes can now have devastating impacts in physical world - for example, bad actors could attack the agriculture industry or the hospital industry where they can physically hurt people or put people in jeopardy through cyber incidents - the field is also about protecting societies and governments.” 

A workforce study by the International Information System Security Certification Consortium (ISC)² found that the skills gap in within cybersecurity has more than doubled since 2019 and that there are 3.4 million more skilled cybersecurity professionals needed globally right now. 

Earlier this year, the World Economic Forum (WEF) ranked cybercrime and cyber insecurity as one of the top ten global risks of the future saying that the rapid development and deployment of new technologies, which often comes with limited protocols governing their use, poses its own set of risks that go beyond just the individual.

“The ever-increasing intertwining of technologies with the critical functioning of societies is exposing populations to direct domestic threats, including those that seek to shatter societal functioning,” the WEF report said.

“Alongside a rise in cybercrime, attempts to disrupt critical technology-enabled resources and services will become more common, with attacks anticipated against agriculture and water, financial systems, public security, transport, energy and domestic, space-based and undersea communication infrastructure.”

Not only is it an in-demand field now, it's role in the global ecosystem will only continue to evolve and grow as technology evolves - something that is currently happening at a rapid rate. 

Cybersecurity has a big need for soft skills

Petzer says that cybersecurity consistently ranks among the top five most in demand fields in IT and technology, but that the skills needed in the field are not only the highly technical ones.

“Of course there is the component of preventing cybercrimes and cyber incidents, and other technical skills needed in the field,” he says. 

“But right now, there are a lot of ethical questions around the processing and storing of personal information - things like generative AI have brought this to the fore even more - so cybersecurity has increasingly become important in the fields of law, economics, psychology, sociology, communications, media and so on. It’s a wide field, and it’s only getting wider.” 

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He adds that there are a lot of different skills needed even if you - for example - think of things like the legislations that need to be developed further, the education and awareness that needs to be shared, ethical considerations and so on. 

“Anyone interested in the field can have a successful career in cybersecurity, even if they didn’t study anything related to computer engineering or computer science,” he says. 

Barriers to entry

What would one have to study or pursue to get into the field?

"Typically, for someone to become a security professional, they would study something in computer engineering or science, then get work experience while doing certifications, and it could take anywhere from six to seven years to become a decently skilled security professional," he says. 

This works well for someone who's already on their way to an IT or computer science-related qualification, but what about those that aren't moving in this direction? It seems to be problem that there's no clearly defined path into the field, especially for the softer skills that are needed.

But Petzer says one can find a space for security in almost any organisation.

"There's an emphasis on security in almost all organisations, so whether you work in legal, compliance or procurement - for example - look for a space to become involved in security. From there, there's a niche you can fill - where security touches law, economics, communication - whichever field it is."

For someone who has worked for a while, but wants to upskill into the field, he advises first looking at what part of cybersecurity you are most interested in, and then finding and completing online courses that speak to it.  

The unclear, undefined and perhaps complicated path to cybersecurity could be considered one of the most critical barriers to entry to the field, and that is something Petzer believes needs to be addressed as soon as possible. 

He adds:

"It's clear that the security professionals of today have their work cut out for them, and even more so for the security professionals of tomorrow. This career will be thriving for a long time and will evolve in ways that we can't even understand or imagine yet."