Digital security staff shortage top inhibitor to innovation: Survey

Organisations across the globe continue to be plagued by skills-related challenges as they undergo digitalisation, with shortage of digital security staff being considered a top inhibitor to innovation, research firm Gartner today said.

According to a survey by Gartner, about 95 per cent of the participating chief information officers (CIOs) said they expect cyber threats to increase over the next three years, but only 65 per cent of their organisations currently have a cybersecurity expert.

The Gartner 2018 CIO Agenda Survey includes data gathered from 3,160 CIOs in 98 countries and across major industries, representing approximately USD 13 trillion in revenue/public sector budgets and USD 277 billion in IT spending.

Gartner research director Rob McMillan said the survey indicates that cybersecurity remains a source of deep concern for organisations.

Many cyber criminals not only operate in ways that organisations struggle to anticipate, but also demonstrate a readiness to adapt to changing environments, he added.

"In a twisted way, many cyber criminals are digital pioneers, finding ways to leverage big data and web-scale techniques to stage attacks and steal data.

"CIOs can't protect their organisations from everything, so they need to create a sustainable set of controls that balances their need to protect their business with their need to run it," McMillan said.

About 35 per cent of the respondents indicated that their organisation has already invested in and deployed some aspect of digital security, while an additional 36 per cent are actively experimenting or planning to implement in the short-term.

"Taking a risk-based approach is imperative to set a target level of cybersecurity readiness," McMillan said adding that raising budgets alone doesn't create an improved risk posture.

"Security investments must be prioritised by business outcomes to ensure the right amount is spent on the right things," he noted.

McMillan said cybersecurity is faced with a well-documented skills shortage, which is considered a top inhibitor to innovation and finding talented, driven people to handle the organisation's cybersecurity responsibilities is "an endless function".