Skills Gap | IT security : Global Information Security Workforce Study concludes that Professionals not ready for social media threats

Frost & Sullivan has published his (ISC)²® Global Information Security Workforce Study. The electronic survey covered 10,413 respondents over the world. Results depict an information security professional market under increasing pressure. “Frost & Sullivan believes this year’s survey shows a clear gap in skills needed to protect organizations in the near future. The information security community admits it needs better training in a variety of new technology areas, yet at the same time reports in significant numbers that these same technologies are already being deployed without security in mind” says the report.

The reports adds: “the profession as a whole appears to be resistant to adopt new trends in technology, such as social media and cloud computing, which are widely adopted by businesses and theaverage end-user. The information security profession could be on a dangerous course, where information security professionals are engulfed in their current job duties and responsibilities, leaving them ill-prepared for the major changes ahead, and potentially endangering the organizations they secure. This is not to say the industry is doomed. If the projected growth in number of information security professionals and concurrent increases in training continue, these risks can be reduced.”

Some key findings:

• The report estimates that there are 2.28 million information security professionals worldwide. This figure is expected to increase to nearly 4.2 million by 2015.
• Application vulnerabilities represent the number one threat to organizations
• Mobile devices were the second highest security concern for the organization
• Professionals aren’t ready for social media threats
• Less than 30 percent of respondents had no limits set for end-users visiting social media
• A clear skills gap exists that jeopardizes professionals’ ability to protect organizations in the near future.
• Cloud computing illustrates a serious gap between technology implementation and the skills necessary to provide security
• More than 70 percent of professionals reported the need for new skills to properly secure cloud-based technologies.

Full Report @ :