It’s time to Close the Loop on Cybersecurity Skills Development

Hack The Box Global Product Marketing Manager Sam Oliver explains why our Enterprise Platform is the best way to keep your company's cyber team ready for cyber threats.

sampo,
Oct 13
2021

According to a research survey conducted by Hays US earlier this year, organizations of all sizes across all industries are still struggling to fill their demand for skilled cybersecurity professionals in their enterprises.

Even the most conservative estimates put the number of unfilled cybersecurity positions in the millions globally, and the surge in remote and hybrid working have added yet another layer of complexity into the mix.

It’s nothing new - the skills gap in cybersecurity was a well-established challenge since long before the pandemic. But a huge 83% of those in security roles felt more overworked and overwhelmed going into 2020 compared to the year before, according to a survey from Tripwire.

It’s safe to assume that working from home arrangements, which create a veritable paradise for cybercriminals, has only added to the problems security teams are facing.

But what’s the solution? It appears that for most enterprises it’s not just a seemingly small talent pool contributing to the problem, but a funding issue too. There simply isn’t the budget to hire more and more cybersecurity professionals. Basic supply and demand.

It’s my belief that cybersecurity is a fundamentally human issue. Some of the most effective cybersecurity leaders I’ve worked with in my career have built teams from diverse practical and academic backgrounds.

Why? Because “ideal” candidates for openings are hard to come by. People often rise to the top of their field through the skills they acquire on the job. There is likely a huge untapped source of potential candidates already in your ranks.

Perhaps it’s time to look internally instead.

Think about it - encouraging, training and developing an existing team opens up huge growth opportunities. People’s varied backgrounds and experiences could fill the gaps in ways that you never will have expected.

Security leaders everywhere are starting to realize this, and it’s unlocking their team’s potential - transitioning non-traditional technical roles into specialized cybersecurity positions.

Better personal growth. Skilled talent development in-house. Not to mention happier teams.

At Hack The Box, we’ve seen a significant uptick in the number of organizations doing just that to solve their cybersecurity staffing challenge.

More than 1,000 businesses, Fortune 500 companies, government agencies and universities use our new Enterprise Platform to introduce an innovative and engaging way to learn, practice and develop cybersecurity skills and techniques.

We believe that to fundamentally address the challenges around cybersecurity skills development, we need to go much further than just training. Which is why we deliver a 360 degree approach to cybersecurity skills management.

Our customers can specialize team skills, sharpen specific techniques, engage in competitions and recruit skilled talent - all from a single platform. Last week, we upgraded many aspects of the Enterprise Platform to further expand its capabilities.

Cyber teams stay engaged and attack-ready, while managers and recruiters enjoy flexibility and simple administration across our Dedicated Labs, Professional Labs, Academy for Business and Talent Search solutions.

It’s not just about putting all our solutions in the same place, we’ve fundamentally streamlined everything about the user and administrator experience as well.

Businesses already work with us to help them:

Find and recruit skilled security professionals
Train and develop new skills across their team
Assess and measure capabilities across their security function
Improve engagement and retention of team members with hacking competitions like CTFs, workshops and more

In many ways, the 2021 report from Hays wasn’t all that surprising. If there is a solution to be found to closing the gap and meeting demand for security skills across the industry, it appears the best way to start is by developing those security professionals already in your employ.

Hack The Box for Business helps more than 1,000 businesses across the globe do just that, and we are ready to do it for you too.

Thanks for reading.