Day: April 30, 2017

Information security is one of the most important and fastest growing professions in the world, possessing a near-zero unemployment rate, but also a worker shortfall that grows larger every year. Most organisations admit that bridging the industry’s skills gap, while attracting women into cybersecurity is crucial; yet female participation has remained static since I began working with our Global Information Security Workforce Study programme in 2004.

When we first began benchmarking the development of the cybersecurity workforce, analysts projected a double-digit growth that has since been realised. Today we forecast a skills gap projected to reach a shortage of 1.8 million by 2022. The obvious implication being here that the trend can’t be explained by a lack of available jobs: hiring managers participating in the study admit that they struggle for as long as six months to fill positions.

Additionally, new research from (ISC)²’s charitable arm, the Center for Cyber Safety and Education™, found that women comprised only 8% of the UK’s information security workforce – a number that has been stagnant since 2013. The study also suggested that initiatives to attract women aren’t proactive enough or that the profession isn’t as committed to building the balanced and sustainable workforce as it claims to be.

But if the level of women in information security were to double, it would fill the anticipated workforce gap. The clear need for talent makes the apparent lack of progress on this front baffling.

Join the conversation as industry leaders discuss why we struggle to attract more women into information security

Next month, a global panel of industry thought leaders from the USA, Australia and UK will each bring their unique perspectives to the table while exploring and debating the recent findings from our Global Information Security Workforce Study; as well as discussing concrete steps in closing that imminent cybersecurity workforce gap.

The Frost & Sullivan webinar Women in Cyber: Why Can’t We Attract Them? will feature leading information security experts, including Jarad Carleton (Principal Consultant – Digital Transformation Practice, Frost & Sullivan), Richard Horne (Partner – Cyber Security, PwC UK), Professor Jill Slay (Director – ACCS, UNSW Canberra), Lynn Terwoerds (Executive Director, Executive Women’s Forum) and Vicki Gavin (Head of Business Continuity Information Security and Data Privacy, The Economist Group), who will be examining many of the issues faced by the sector and females, including equality challenges for women in the profession. They will also put forward proposed recommendations that will endeavor to offer equal opportunities for all professionals, such as compulsory quantitative key performance indicators to bring about a gender-balanced workforce.

Only by developing the profile of our workforce should we be able to attain a truer reflection of talent and fulfill the needs of our digital society. It will be interesting to see whether companies answer the call for progress within the industry, as well as the experts’ take on how this can be achieved.

Lyndsay Turley
Head of Comms & Public Affairs, (ISC)² EMEA

 

Webinar details: Women in Cyber: Why Can’t We Attract Them?

A Global Information Security Workforce Study debate

Wednesday, 3rd May 2017 – 1:00 PM BST / 8:00 AM EDT

To submit a question that will be answered live during the briefing, please email: Gil_Briefings@frost.com.

Register for this event  and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

[(ISC)² Blog]

Planning is well underway to lead into ISACA’s 50^th year in 2019, mark the anniversary, and carry momentum forward into the next decade and beyond. From outreach nearly a year ago to ISACA’s past presidents —an early tap of their ideas and insights — to anniversary footings now in place, importance, inclusivity, curiosity and enthusiasm characterize efforts to date.

And today is an important date, as ISACA debuts one of those footings — and a digital one at that. The first phase of our anniversary microsite, www.ISACA50.org, is up and running. The site will serve as a hub for stories, to gather and share history, for celebrating toolkits, to post anniversary news and updates from around the global, and to predict our future. It will lead the way to bring our anniversary theme to life:

Honor Our Past. Innovate Our Future.

As you read this, the site is having its first show-and tell during the ISACA Regional Leadership Conference, beginning today in Las Vegas. The site, the celebration underway and to come, is theirs, yours, ours. It has taken a collective effort to reach such a proud milestone, so it is only natural that the global ISACA community enjoys the celebration together: ISACA50.org is just the start. We encourage you to share your story of what ISACA means to you, as well as any images, videos or other materials — whether related to ISACA or the professions we serve — that will help enhance anniversary programming.

The anniversary logo is featured prominently on ISACA50.org. There is meaning to its design, and we hope you sense its energy. Concentric circles in the “50” represents the perpetual motion and innovation that have been hallmarks of ISACA’s past and present, and will be even more prominent going forward. Fittingly for a future-minded tech organization such as ISACA, envisioning and embracing the possibilities of the next 50 years will be a rallying point of our celebration.

Beyond the web portal, there are many other in-progress plans to commemorate this demarcation of the past and future. Another foundational element is an immersive, innovatively designed event exhibit. Preliminary concepts feature interactive, responsive technologies to illustrate history, ISACA contributions and milestones, people and impact, and a central “Future Visions” booth to capture and enhance visitor experiences and aspirations — for themselves, for ISACA, for our industry and for the world.

A third and just as essential early anniversary element are plans, creative programs and packaged toolkits to prompt celebrations of all shapes, sizes and durations by and for ISACA chapters, volunteers, leaders, members and engaged professionals the world over. The anniversary provides a clarion call, as ONE global community, to deliver ISACA’s Purpose and Promise:

• Help you realize the positive potential of technology
• Inspire confidence that enables innovation through technology

Indeed, you will see, hear and feel the impact of Purpose and Promise as we honor, and as we innovate over the course of our anniversary years.

ISACA has an incredible story to tell. Consider the seismic shifts in technology that have unfolded since 1969, when a small group of individuals in the Los Angeles area formed the EDP Auditors Association, which eventually became ISACA. For the past five decades, ISACA has been at the forefront of helping professionals and their enterprises navigate the fast-moving technology landscape. Our ability to do so for the next 50 years is even more imperative given the scale of global digital disruption we’re experiencing.

This is a special time for ISACA. Our global professional community — growing each year in number and impact — will honor our past and innovate our future together. It will be a fun, enlightening and rewarding celebration.

Stay tuned – there will be much more to share, know and do in the coming months and years. It is time to Honor Our Past. Innovate Our Future. A first visit to www.ISACA50.org is a great place to start!

[ISACA Now Blog]