Cyber attacks are on the prowl. It is increasingly common to hear about vulnerabilities from large companies or small businesses; however, there is a shortage of specialists in the field who are a significant barrier to stopping cybercriminals.
According to Ariel Jolo, BDFL at the firm Sysarmy, this problem is suffered throughout all areas of the technology industry, but cybersecurity is one of the most breaches, which is significant, since vulnerabilities They not only affect high-profile companies or banks, but also the operation of startups whose services are based on the cloud.
An example of this situation is that in Mexico, one in four national companies suffered a ransomware attack during 2020,. Additionally, recovery costs amounted to $ 2.03 million.
However, in the country there are about 200,000 people who are dedicated to cybersecurity, and 400,000 are missing to help protect companies and users, according to a survey conducted in 2020 by an international non-profit organization offering training and certification programs in cybersecurity.
This phenomenon is replicated both in power economies, such as the United States, where there is an unmet need for 359,000 workers in the sector, and worldwide, as the gap is even greater, with almost 3.12 million unfilled positions, according to the same report.
The positions that are required to be filled range from basic-level security analysts, who are in charge of monitoring network traffic to detect possible malicious agents, to executive-level experts, whose responsibilities are to explain to company directors or boards of directors the potential financial and reputational risks from cyberattacks.
For Jolo, an explanation to this phenomenon can be found in the fact that there is a barrier to entry to careers related to cybersecurity, since there is the false belief that knowledge in mathematics is difficult and indispensable. On the other hand, the different areas of action where experts on the subject can work are unknown and even the general perception towards these specialists is negative.
For, director of Information and Communication Technologies of the National Association of Universities and Institutions of Higher Education, the reason why there is a gap is because the problem has not been addressed at an operational level, the newspaper El Imparcial recovered.
“It is the nature of the country, we are so diverse and we are so uneven in that sense. What we would seek would be to standardize, attend to and try to ensure that there is, in that sense, democracy, ”he commented, referring to generating the issue to leave technical and specialized circles, in order to reach more people.
Cybersecurity, experts agree, is one of the most needed areas for the global and digital economy. Therefore, Ariel Jolo points out, “in the coming years there will be a significant increase in people getting into this area and it is our duty, as a community, to provide them with knowledge.”
In this context, Nedearla is relevant, an event promoted by Sisatmy where technological innovations for the Latin American region are shared, in addition to introductory talks on topics such as cybersecurity to motivate young people to join this sector.
“There is no short-term solution,” said Bryan Orme, director of GuidePoint Security in an interview with CNN, where he also stressed that it is necessary to “adopt a long-term vision”, in order to be able to train specialists in a systematic way. and create a stream of qualified talent to join the workforce in the years to come.
