Indian Organizations Face Escalating Cybersecurity Risks Due to Skills Shortage

The latest Global Cybersecurity Skills Gap Report from Fortinet highlights the critical challenge faced by organizations due to the shortage of cybersecurity talent. The report shows that over 80% of respondents find it challenging to hire certified professionals, which puts organizations at risk. To strengthen their security postures and stay ahead of the growing cyber threat landscape, it's essential for organizations to prioritize cybersecurity training and upskilling. With increasing workloads, organizations must also consider products that introduce automation to ease the burden on their teams while continuing to focus on training and upskilling in cybersecurity. says, Vishak Raman, Vice President of Sales, India, SAARC & Southeast Asia at Fortinet

Fortinet® (NASDAQ: FTNT), the global cybersecurity leader driving the convergence of networking and security, today released its 2023 Global Cybersecurity Skills Gap Report, which reveals ongoing challenges related to the cybersecurity skills shortage affecting organizations worldwide. Key findings for India from the global report include:

· The cybersecurity skills shortage has contributed to critical IT positions not being filled, which increases organizations’ cyber risks, such as breaches.

· Cybersecurity remains a priority for boards of directors and there is executive demand for increased IT security headcount.

· Technology-focused certifications are highly regarded by employers, serving as validation of skill sets.

· Organizations recognize the advantage of recruiting and retaining diverse talent to help address the skills shortage, but doing so has presented a challenge.

The Costly Reality of the Increasing Cybersecurity Skills Gap

An estimated 3.14 million professionals are needed to fill the global cybersecurity workforce gap. At the same time, the 2023 Global Cybersecurity Skills Gap Report found that 24% of Indian organizations experienced five or more breaches. One repercussion of this is that many short-staffed cybersecurity teams are burdened and strained as they try to keep up with thousands of daily threat alerts and attempt to manage disparate solutions to properly protect their organization’s devices and data.

Additionally, as a result of unfilled IT positions due to the cyber skills shortage, the report also found that 84% of organizations in India indicate they face additional cyber risks. Other findings highlighting increased cyber risks that could be partially attributed to the talent shortage include:

· Security intrusions are increasing: One resulting cyber risk is increased breaches, with 92% of organizations in India experiencing one or more cybersecurity intrusions in the past 12 months up from 80% from last year.

· More organizations were impacted financially due to breaches: Nearly half 43% of organizations in India suffered breaches in the past 12 months that cost more than $1 million to remediate, which is up from 38% of organizations compared to last year’s report.

· Cyberattacks will continue to increase: At the same time, 69% of Indian organizations expect the number of cyberattacks to increase over the next 12 months, further compounding the need to fill crucial cyber positions to help strengthen organizations’ security postures.

· The skills gap is a top concern for boards of directors: The report demonstrated that more than 94% of Indian boards are asking how the organization is protecting against cyberattacks. At the same time, 90% of boards are advocating for hiring more IT security staff, emphasizing the demand for security talent.

Upskilling Security Professionals and Developing More Talent with Training

The report also suggested that employers recognize how training and certifications can benefit their organization in addressing the skills gap, while also serving as an advantage for anyone looking to advance in their current security profession, as well as for individuals considering transitioning into the field. Below are additional highlights from the report around training:

· Certifications are sought after by employers: Beyond experience, employers view certifications and training as reliable validation of an individual’s skill set with 98% of Indian business leaders preferring to hire individuals with technology-focused certifications, up from 81% the year before. Additionally, 84% of respondents would pay for an employee to get a cybersecurity certification.

· Certifications benefit both organizations and individuals. More than 80% of report respondents (86%) indicated their organization would benefit from cybersecurity certifications and 100% of business leaders have experienced positive results from either their team or themselves being certified.

· Not enough professionals are certified: While certifications are highly regarded, more than 80% of respondents said it is difficult to find people with certifications.

Increasing Opportunities for Women and Veterans Can Help Solve the Skills Gap

While the report demonstrated that organizations are seeking ways to tap into new talent pools to fill cybersecurity roles, with 9 out of 10 Indian organizations having diversity goals as part of their hiring practices, roughly 43% of organizations indicate they have difficulty finding qualified candidates who are women.

· The report suggested that Indian companies hired more veterans 67% when compared to 47% globally.

· At the same time, the report shows there were more women in cybersecurity roles in India 94% when compared to 89% globally.

Fortinet’s Commitment to Closing the Skills Gap

To help alleviate the challenges resulting from the skills shortage, Fortinet is committed to helping organizations improve the management of cyber risks with ML-driven automation and services, as well as increased access to cyber training. As part of these efforts, Fortinet has pledged to train 1 million people in cybersecurity by 2026 to help increase access for security professionals and untapped talent pools looking to upskill and reskill.