Fortinet Annual Skills Gap Report Uncovers an Increase in Breaches
Attributed to a Lack of Cybersecurity Skills
John Maddison, EVP of Products and CMO at
Fortinet“The cybersecurity talent shortage is one of the
top challenges putting organizations at risk, as clearly
demonstrated by the results of the latest Global Cybersecurity
Skills Gap Report from Fortinet. In today’s climate, organizations
must choose products that introduce automation to offload
overworked teams while continuing to focus on upskilling and
cybersecurity training.”
News Summary Fortinet® (NASDAQ: FTNT), the
global cybersecurity leader driving the convergence of networking
and security, today released its 2023 Global Cybersecurity Skills
Gap Report, which reveals ongoing challenges related to the
cybersecurity skills shortage affecting organizations worldwide.
Key findings from the global report include:
- The cybersecurity skills shortage has contributed to critical
IT positions not being filled, which increases organizations’ cyber
risks, such as breaches.
- Cybersecurity remains a priority for boards of directors and
there is executive demand for increased IT security headcount.
- Technology-focused certifications are highly regarded by
employers, serving as validation of skill sets.
- Organizations recognize the advantage of recruiting and
retaining diverse talent to help address the skills shortage, but
doing so has presented a challenge.
The Costly Reality of the Increasing Cybersecurity
Skills Gap An estimated 3.14 million professionals are
needed to fill the global cybersecurity workforce gap. At the same
time, the 2023 Global Cybersecurity Skills Gap Report found that
the number of organizations experiencing five or more breaches
jumped by 53% from 2021 to 2022. One repercussion of this is that
many short-staffed cybersecurity teams are burdened and strained as
they try to keep up with thousands of daily threat alerts and
attempt to manage disparate solutions to properly protect their
organization’s devices and data.
Additionally, as a result of unfilled IT positions due to the
cyber skills shortage, the report also found that 68% of
organizations indicate they face additional cyber risks. Other
findings highlighting increased cyber risks that could be partially
attributed to the talent shortage include:
- Security intrusions are increasing: One
resulting cyber risk is increased breaches, with 84% of
organizations experiencing one or more cybersecurity intrusions in
the past 12 months, up from 80% from last year.
- More organizations were impacted financially due to
breaches: Nearly 50% of organizations suffered breaches in
the past 12 months that cost more than $1 million to remediate,
which is up from 38% of organizations compared to last year’s
report.
- Cyberattacks will continue to increase: At the
same time, 65% of organizations expect the number of cyberattacks
to increase over the next 12 months, further compounding the need
to fill crucial cyber positions to help strengthen organizations’
security postures.
- The skills gap is a top concern for boards of
directors: The report demonstrated that more than 90% of
boards (93%) are asking how the organization is protecting against
cyberattacks. At the same time, 83% of boards are advocating for
hiring more IT security staff, emphasizing the demand for security
talent.
Upskilling Security Professionals and Developing More
Talent with Training The report also suggested that
employers recognize how training and certifications can benefit
their organization in addressing the skills gap, while also serving
as an advantage for anyone looking to advance in their current
security profession, as well as for individuals considering
transitioning into the field. Below are additional highlights from
the report around training:
- Certifications are sought after by employers:
Beyond experience, employers view certifications and training as
reliable validation of an individual’s skill set with 90% of
business leaders preferring to hire individuals with
technology-focused certifications, up from 81% the year before.
Additionally, 90% of respondents would pay for an employee to get a
cybersecurity certification.
- Certifications benefit both organizations and
individuals. More than 80% of report respondents (82%)
indicated their organization would benefit from cybersecurity
certifications and 95% of business leaders have experienced
positive results from either their team or themselves being
certified.
- Not enough professionals are certified: While
certifications are highly regarded, more than 70% of respondents
said it is difficult to find people with certifications.
Increasing Opportunities for Women, Veterans and Other
Populations Can Help Solve the Skills GapWhile the report
demonstrated that organizations are seeking ways to tap into new
talent pools to fill cybersecurity roles, with 8 out of 10
organizations having diversity goals as part of their hiring
practices, roughly 40% of organizations indicate they have
difficulty finding qualified candidates who are women, military
veterans, or from minority backgrounds.
- The report suggested that there was a decrease in veterans
being hired compared to last year, with the number of organizations
indicating they hired military veterans dropping from 53% in 2021
to 47% in 2022.
- At the same time, the report shows there was only a 1% increase
year-over-year in organizations hiring women (88% in 2021 and 89%
in 2022) and minorities (67% in 2021 and 68% in 2022).
Fortinet’s Commitment to Closing the Skills Gap
To help alleviate the challenges resulting from the skills
shortage, Fortinet is committed to helping organizations improve
the management of cyber risks with ML-driven automation and
services, as well as increased access to cyber training. As part of
these efforts, Fortinet has pledged to train 1 million people in
cybersecurity by 2026 to help increase access for security
professionals and untapped talent pools looking to upskill and
reskill.
About the Fortinet Skills Gap Survey:
- The survey was
conducted among more than 1,800 IT and/or cybersecurity
decision-makers from 29 different locations.
- Survey
respondents came from a range of industries, including technology
(21%), manufacturing (16%), and financial services (13%).
Additional Resources
- To learn more about the 2023 Global Skills Gap Report and how
the Fortinet Training Institute is addressing the key challenges
uncovered in the report, read this blog.
- Learn about Fortinet’s free cybersecurity training, which
includes broad cyber awareness and product training. As part of the
Fortinet Training Advancement Agenda (TAA), the Fortinet Training
Institute also provides training and certification through the
Network Security Expert (NSE) Certification, Academic Partner,
and Education Outreach programs.
- Learn more about FortiGuard Labs threat intelligence and
research and Outbreak Alerts, which provide timely steps to
mitigate breaking cybersecurity attacks.
- Learn more about Fortinet’s FortiGuard Security Services
portfolio.
- Read about how Fortinet customers are securing their
organizations.
- Follow Fortinet on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.
Subscribe to Fortinet on our blog or YouTube.
About FortinetFortinet (NASDAQ: FTNT) is a
driving force in the evolution of cybersecurity and the convergence
of networking and security. Our mission is to secure people,
devices, and data everywhere, and today we deliver cybersecurity
everywhere you need it with the largest integrated portfolio of
over 50 enterprise-grade products. Well over half a million
customers trust Fortinet's solutions, which are among the most
deployed, most patented, and most validated in the industry. The
Fortinet Training Institute, one of the largest and broadest
training programs in the industry, is dedicated to making
cybersecurity training and new career opportunities available to
everyone. FortiGuard Labs, Fortinet’s elite threat intelligence and
research organization, develops and utilizes leading-edge machine
learning and AI technologies to provide customers with timely and
consistently top-rated protection and actionable threat
intelligence. Learn more at https://www.fortinet.com, the Fortinet
Blog, and FortiGuard Labs.
FTNT-O
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Media Contact: |
Investor Contact: |
Analyst Contact: |
Stephanie LiraFortinet,
Inc.408-235-7700pr@fortinet.com |
Peter SalkowskiFortinet, Inc.
408-331-4595psalkowski@fortinet.com |
Brian Greenberg Fortinet,
Inc.408-235-7700analystrelations@fortinet.com |
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