Organizations across all sectors in the U.S. have been hit by more than 700 data breaches thus far in 2019, exposing approximately 40 million records, according to data from the Identity Theft Resource Center. The most high-profile example of such a hack came just two weeks ago with the Capital One breach that exposed personal and financial information for up to 100 million Americans, according to CNBC.
Leaders in all major sectors of business realize the urgency of the threats posed by unauthorized access and malware attacks: CEOs like Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase and Brian Moynihan at Bank of America have recently made statements to this effect, with the former saying cybersecurity breaches "may well be the biggest threat to the U.S. financial system."
However, the level of demand for high-echelon tech talent means that it can sometimes be difficult for organizations to find the right information security professionals, particularly when looking for C-level and other executive-level staff. If your company is in such a position, it'll be critical to understand the ins and outs of this staffing issue – and partner with executive recruitment experts like YES Partners to track down ideal IT and infosec leadership.
The U.S. cybersecurity staff shortage
According to research conducted for the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) conference, which took place Nov. 7, 2018 in Miami, more than 300,000 open positions in the field of IT security went unfilled between September 2017 and August 2018. A similar study by the firm Cybersecurity Ventures projected that there could be as many as 3.5 million unfilled jobs in that line of work by 2021.
CEO Matthew Sigelman of Burning Glass Technologies commented on this issue at the NICE conference.
"Increasingly, governments and businesses are working to build better defense against cyber attacks, but training programs are simply not producing enough cybersecurity talent to keep up with demand and to keep data-driven enterprises safe," Sigelman explained.
Successfully managing the talent search
With the demand for strong enterprise cybersecurity protections at such a high level, infosec experts on the lookout for a new job will have a strong negotiating position when your organization – or any other – comes calling with the offer of a position. Those with enough experience to realistically take executive roles are basically able to name their price, which can sometimes go as high as seven figures and include major stock percentages.
Since not all firms are able to offer such attractive compensation, smaller and mid-tier enterprises may find it difficult to go toe to toe with the biggest names in their industry. Seeking the assistance of YES Partners can afford your business an invaluable advantage, as we have the expertise and global reach to help your organization find the right tech executives to address your specific security needs. To see some of the roles we have already successfully placed, click here.
Finding people is easy, but finding the RIGHT people is not. YES Partners helps companies FIND the right people for all company functions, across many industries.
