India is currently at a critical juncture in the cybersecurity landscape, and the country will witness a surge in newer roles, said a report released by Data Security Council of India (DSCI), a Nasscom initiative aimed at protecting data, in association with EY on Friday.
New roles such as DevSecOps Engineers, IoT Engineers, and Analysts IoT Security with expertise in Artificial Intelligence, Data Forensics, and Hacking Wireless Networks, in addition to the currently prevalent job roles such as Cyber Security Risk Analyst, Cyber Security Analyst, and Penetration Tester, will witness a boost in the next five years, according to the report.
Jean-Philippe Courtois, Executive Vice President and President, National Transformation Partnerships, Microsoft said, “Cyberattacks can have devastating impact on organisations and economies – the average cost of a cyber breach has reached $4.35 million. In just one year, the volume of password attacks has risen 74% to an estimated 921 attacks every second.’‘
Consequently, the demand for cybersecurity professionals in India has increased 54% over the past year, but the country does not have enough people with the required skill sets to defend against cybersecurity attacks, he said. “To address this cybersecurity skills crisis, we must have intentional programmes and robust partnerships among governments, organisations in the private sector, and other stakeholders in the skilling ecosystem including educational institutions and non-profits,’‘ Mr. Courtois added.
According to the report, India is at a critical juncture in the cybersecurity landscape, where the demand for skilled professionals is surging. However, enterprises that were part of this study observed that cybersecurity professionals constituted only a small part of the workforce, although half of these enterprises have plans to increase their cybersecurity workforce considerably over the next five years.
The report also found that diversity was lacking in the cybersecurity ecosystem. In terms of inclusivity, the report showcased limited participation from women and persons with disabilities (PWDs) in the country’s cybersecurity domain.
However, it revealed, some 82% of companies surveyed were committed to enhancing women’s representation by at least 5% in the next five years.
“This report can be an appropriate reference point for stakeholders to orient Cyber security training programmes that provide opportunities to close gender and regional diversity gaps in the talent pool,’‘ said Vinayak Godse, Chief Executive Officer, DSCI.
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