(ISC)² Blog

Do You Hire Cyber Pros? Let’s Talk!

Are you responsible for hiring members of the cybersecurity team at your organization? Then we want to hear from you! (ISC)² is looking to meet with professionals who hire cybersecurity practitioners, specifically entry level staff. We are holding a two-day virtual meeting for this purpose which is scheduled for September 27-28, 2021. It will run from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (EST). If you’re interested and available for those two days, please send an email that includes your position and organization you work for to letstalk@isc2.org no later than September 15, 2021. The number of available seats is limited. Respondents... Read more →

Five Steps to Get a Cybersecurity Job

Finding your first job in any field is often a challenge. But your first job in cybersecurity? With no previous experience? That may seem impossible, but it’s not. According to the (ISC)² Cybersecurity Workforce Study 2020, the cybersecurity workforce needs to grow by 89% to effectively defend organizations’ critical assets; however, that doesn’t mean jobs are easy to find for all eager applicants. Organizations can often set their expectations unrealistically high, making it hard to fill these roles. A cybersecurity hire doesn’t necessarily need to have previous experience to be the right fit for the position. There are many skills... Read more →

2021 Q3 Updates from Our Chairperson and CEO: Membership Milestones and More

To provide transparency with the association, (ISC)² provides a quarterly update for members and candidates where we report on the latest developments at (ISC)². Following our board meetings, our CEO, Clar Rosso, and (ISC)² Board of Directors Chairperson, Zachary Tudor, CISSP, recap the latest association developments. The 2021 Q3 update included membership milestones (including 10,000 CCSP members worldwide!), association accreditations and new executive leadership announcements focused on member benefits and advocacy. Zach and Clar also discuss what (ISC)² is doing to continue to address global diversity, equity and inclusion in cybersecurity, as well as the workforce gap. You can view... Read more →

Let the Games Begin! TikTok Partners with NICE to Attract Young Cybersecurity Professionals

The cybersecurity industry is struggling with a 3.1 million worldwide skills gap, so the need to attract people to the profession is acute. But closing the gap is no easy task, and getting young people interested in the field is challenging. Innovative ideas to attract would-be cybersecurity professionals are always welcome. One such idea involves a collaboration by TikTok and the U.S. Commerce Department’s National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE). The initiative, the US Cyber Games, is designed to awaken interest among young people by having budding cybersecurity professionals face off in an esports-like competition. The US Cyber Games started... Read more →

CEO Clar Rosso: Championing (ISC)² Members and the Cybersecurity Profession

The duties of the CEO of a member association like (ISC)² are many, and part of the job is to be a strong voice for the membership in advocating for the cybersecurity profession. Clar Rosso took on that responsibility when she was appointed in October 2020. Ever since, she’s been representing the more than 160,000 current cybersecurity practitioners who have earned (ISC)² membership. In addition to meeting with members and presenting to global (ISC)² Chapters, speaking on panels and attending online conferences, Clar has also conducted dozens of press interviews to bring more visibility to the profession and has hosted... Read more →

Cybersecurity Leaders: Think in Business Terms

The vast majority of cybersecurity chiefs (93%) do not report to the CEO, according to a recently published report. As a result, a lack of communication between the C-suite and cybersecurity leaders keeps top executives largely in the dark about their organizations' cybersecurity risks and overall security posture. The report, published by LogRhythm and based on research by the Ponemon Institute, polled 1,426 security and technology leaders. “On average, respondents are three levels away from the CEO, which makes it very difficult to ensure that leadership has an accurate and complete understanding of security risks facing the organization,” the report... Read more →

Cybersecurity Professionals to Newcomers: Focus on Vendor-Neutral Certifications

Cybersecurity professionals are far more likely to hold vendor-specific certificates than certifications from a vendor-neutral association or standards-based organization, according to the (ISC)² Cybersecurity Career Pursuers Study. But when asked which qualifications they would recommend to cybersecurity newcomers, professionals tend to prioritize vendor-neutral credentials. This preference suggests that even though current professionals followed a more traditional, vendor-specific path when gaining experience in the field (55% of current professionals entered cybersecurity from IT backgrounds), they see greater value in pursuing broader professional qualifications for people starting their careers now. This is a perspective that may be informed by their own lessons... Read more →

Igniting Passion for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI): Cybersecurity Professionals Address Challenges and Offer Tangible Advice for Weaving Inclusion into Our Industry

Clar Rosso, (ISC)² CEO recently joined a roundtable of experts in an (ISC)² Think Tank webinar to highlight why it’s so important to the cybersecurity industry to focus on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) as well as offer tangible and practical tips to address common challenges and tensions that often arise on the inclusion journey. The June 23 panel discussed why these initiatives often fail and how to push through the barriers that often keep them from achieving lasting transformation. Rosso was joined by Dr. Kevin Charest, Executive Vice President and CTO at HITRUST, and Samara Moore, AWS Security Assurance... Read more →

(ISC)² Offers Free Access to Ransomware Education | #RANSOMWAREWEEK

In conjunction with #RansomwareWeek, today (ISC)² announced that its popular Professional Development Institute (PDI) course titled “Ransomware: Identify, Protect, Detect, Recover,” is now free to the public through July 31, 2021. (ISC)² recognizes the intense demand for ransomware prevention and mitigation content and has opened registration to anyone who is interested in the topic. The two-hour ransomware course is Quality Matters (QM) approved and upon successful completion, learners earn a certification of completion and digital badge. Successful course completion will also unlock a 25% discount off all PDI courses through July 31, including the All-Access Pass and the Express Bundle.... Read more →

Hiring from Within and Retaining Cybersecurity Talent: Building Your Strategy

Faced with significant obstacles to build their cybersecurity teams, organizations increasingly are looking within to find transferrable talent for cybersecurity roles. It’s a practice strongly endorsed by (ISC)² in the recently published Cybersecurity Career Hiring Study and the Cybersecurity Workforce Study. The problem is that a substantial number of organizations aren’t up to the task of developing in-house talent for cybersecurity. Nearly half (45%) of companies in a recent study say they are not capable of doing it. And the problem doesn’t end there. The study, conducted by IT recruiting firm Hays US, also found that only 39% of respondents... Read more →

Survey Now Open: What Differences Did the Year Make in Cybersecurity?

The annual (ISC)² Cybersecurity Workforce Survey is now open. Your participation is vital for this influential benchmarking study used by organizations, governments and the media worldwide to advance conversations centered on closing the cybersecurity workforce gap. What differences did this past year make for your experiences in cybersecurity? Cybersecurity professionals overwhelmingly reported last year that team communications remained steady (60%) — or improved (25%) — as a result of remote work. Were your experiences working remotely this year as positive? Last year, most survey respondents reported stable (54%) — or even fewer (12%) — security incidents after moving their cybersecurity... Read more →

In A Year Like No Other, What Did Yours Look Like? Take The Survey.

The world will never be the same, and neither will cybersecurity. This past year changed everything. Or did it? Help us better understand the current state of the cybersecurity profession. We need your participation in the annual (ISC)² Cybersecurity Workforce Survey. You’re living and working through the changes. Now, share what you’ve experienced. Your feedback will play a vital role in benchmarking the global shifts in cybersecurity through the pandemic and beyond. Example: Most survey respondents last year reported stable — or even fewer — security incidents after moving their cybersecurity teams remote. Did that trend hold up for you... Read more →

Many Cybersecurity Jobseekers Lack a Full Understanding of the Role They Seek

People looking to get into the cybersecurity field generally demonstrate a solid understanding of the threats facing organizations, according to new research from (ISC)². Yet, they don’t necessarily have the correct expectations of what they will be doing should they land a cybersecurity job. In a profession that covers a wide spectrum of tasks and responsibilities, including security operations, risk assessment and user training, coming up with a clear definition of the role is difficult for outsiders, the study suggests. Nevertheless, job pursuers are aware of the various threats cybersecurity teams have to address, including malware, ransomware and phishing. The... Read more →

What’s Next for Cybersecurity Workers? You Tell Us.

The annual (ISC)² Cybersecurity Workforce Survey needs your experience and opinions to help shape the conversation. As we find ourselves more than one year into a global pandemic, we want to accurately reflect the current state of the industry. How has your career been impacted? How has your organization changed? How has your work evolved? We need to hear from cybersecurity professionals, (ISC)² members and non-members, representing all regions globally. Like last year’s survey results, these results will be used by organizations, governments and the media to foster conversations regarding strategies to improve the recruiting and filling of positions needed... Read more →

Do You Have These Top Cyber Security Skills?

An interesting take-away from the (ISC)2 Cybersecurity Career Pursuers Study is what cybersecurity professionals told us were the most important technical skills for those looking for their first cybersecurity job. When current jobholders were asked to rate the most important technical skills for aspiring cybersecurity professionals, there was little differentiation among the 20 technical concepts they were asked to rate. Cyber Security Technical Skill or Concept Rating (1 – 5) Cloud Security 4.46 Malware Analysis 4.44 Data Analysis 4.42 Threat Assessment 4.42 Intrusion Detection 4.42 Risk Assessment/Management 4.37 Encryption 4.37 Secure Software Development 4.37 Networking 4.34 Database 4.32 Penetration Testing... Read more →

CISSPs from Around the Globe: An Interview with Jason Lau

The Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification is considered to be the gold standard in information security. This is so because of all the doors that certification opens to a CISSP professional. Those doors lead to many different types of positions and opportunities, thus making the information security community dynamic and multifaceted. In support of this diversity, (ISC)² has launched a series of interviews to explore where CISSP certification has led security professionals. Last time we heard from Mari Aoba and her experiences with CISSP. This installment features Jason Lau, CISO for Crypto.com and an official member and contributor... Read more →

Report: (ISC)2 Cybersecurity Career Pursuers Study Provides Insights From Professionals and Jobseekers to Highlight What Security Jobs Actually Entail

Organizations looking to build cybersecurity teams by attempting to recruit “all stars” need to reevaluate their strategy and adjust expectations. With the current cybersecurity workforce gap estimated at 3.1 million worldwide, it is too daunting – or for many, nearly impossible – to find candidates with all the skills and experience that organizations often seek. The (ISC)2 Cybersecurity Career Pursuers Study delivers guidance on how to find strong candidates despite the scarcity of available talent. The report suggests organizations take a pragmatic approach to recruitment by zeroing in on qualities such as analytical thinking, problem solving and creativity, which foreshadow... Read more →

Cyber Threats: The Financial System’s Top Risk

With cyber attacks against financial and banking institutions now a daily occurrence, cyber threats have become the biggest risk to the global financial system, according to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. During an interview on CBS News’ 60 Minutes, Powell said cyber risks surpass even the types of lending and liquidity risks that led to the Great Recession in 2008. The chances of a financial collapse akin to 2008 are “very low,” he said. “But the world changes, the world evolves, and the risks change as well. The risk we keep our eyes on the most is cyber risk.” If... Read more →

(ISC)2 and the Creation of the U.K. Cyber Security Council

Since the first seed was sown back in 2016, work has been underway to create an independent body to support growth and professionalism within the U.K.’s cybersecurity education, training and skills activities. Now, that body has come into being in the form of the U.K. Cyber Security Council. (ISC)² staff and members have been involved in this project since 2018 and have been diligently working alongside volunteers from other organizations on the Council Formation Project, which concludes today following more than 18 months of work. What does this mean for members, associates or those yet to begin their cybersecurity career... Read more →

Women Leaders Offer Tips For Building a Cybersecurity Career

On March 8, 2021, in celebration of International Women’s Day, five accomplished female security professionals met for a wide-ranging and spirited panel discussion on how to encourage more women to join the cybersecurity field, and provided highlights from their own journeys in the profession. The panel was moderated by Sharon Smith, CISSP, cybersecurity strategy and advisory consultant, and included the following security industry leaders: Clar Rosso, CEO, (ISC)² Aanchal Gupta, CISSP, vice president of Azure Security, Microsoft Lori Ross O’Neil, CISSP, senior ICS cyber security researcher & project manager, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, vice chairperson, (ISC)² Board of Directors Megan... Read more →