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Off the back of the report, Fiona Boyd, Head of Enterprise and Cyber Security at Fujitsu shares her thought on how if organisations are to address the cyber security gap then they will need to invest in new technological approaches and the next generation of diverse talent that are able to think differently and creatively when it comes to defending the organisation.

Fiona Boyd, Head of Enterprise and Cyber Security at Fujitsu:

“The severity of the cyber skills gap is very real, with reports estimating a global shortage of 3.5 million unfulfilled positions by 2021. This is worrying for a world increasingly at risk of breaches, hacks and other forms of cyber attacks – if the personnel aren’t available to maintain best cyber practice, businesses, organisations and governments will likely suffer. There have been many high profile data breaches in the last year alone and the need to close the gap has never been greater. Innovative approaches to addressing this shortage and talent creation must be considered.

“There is a shared responsibility for government, academia and business to play a part in attracting new talent. It was hugely encouraging to see the government taking proactive steps in training good cyber security practice to younger users through the new virtual cyber security school, and investing in the next generation will continue to play a vital role.

“Technology now moves at such a fast pace, and is creating new opportunities where organisations can make better use of their investments through the adoption of advancing features including automation and machine learning. However, with this rapid pace of change, a new, diverse and creative wave of cyber attackers surface; if businesses are to address this long-run challenge, they will need to invest in new technological approaches and the next generation of diverse talent that are able to think differently and creatively when it comes to defending the organisation, its employees and themselves.”