Protecting data from attackers

Cyber security experts in demand

AS DATA becomes increasingly important to organisations and individuals, more cyber security specialists are needed to protect it.

The information security field is expected to see a worldwide deficit of

1.5 million professionals by 2020, the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet reports.

It reveals an “urgent need” for highly skilled cyber security professionals in Australia as both private and public sectors struggle to fill job vacancies.

The Australian Cyber Security Growth Network reports Australians and Australian organisations spent $3.46 billion in external cyber security functions in 2016 and this is forecast to grow by 7.5 per cent annually in the next decade.

High-profile hacks and breaches in recent years – such as the WannaCry ransomware attack in May that spread through governments, hospitals, car manufacturers and universities globally – have shone further light on the need for cyber security and demand for workers with these information technology skills.

Peter Sparkes, senior director of Symantec Cyber Security Services APJ, says the cyber security role has evolved to require not only technical skills but soft skills such as communication.

“When I first joined Symantec 12 years ago, it was very much about the technical skills, we wanted analysts and engineers,” he says.

“Over time, security has changed and become a part of board-level discussion so it’s not just about the technical detail but the impact of the event to the organisation.

“You need communication skills, business skills and those sort of soft skills – they are sometimes more important than the technical skills.

“When we do interviews, we are never going to find the perfect person but we can find people to train and the technical skills are easier to train than soft skills.”

Sparkes says diversity is important in his line of work and cyber security professionals should bring unique skills and perspectives to the team.

“That lends a lot of strength as people should not all be thinking alike when trying to detect these threats,” he says.

“My staff speak about 10 different languages at the moment and support customers not just in Australia but Asia-Pacific and Japan.

“One of the things I look for is the skill set and how it fits in the team. I might have someone good at malware analysis and someone good at input forensics but I need someone good at network security to give some rounding out. There are lots of different fields and skill sets that you need in security.”

Sparkes says some workers come to the career after completing TAFE courses, while others have undergraduate or masters degrees.

Either way, their training does not stop once they land the job.

“If they come to us direct, they usually go through a six-month intense program (but) like in a lot of other fields, training doesn’t stop just because you’ve got your ticket to work,” he says. “There is constant training and upskilling.”

PayScale Australia data shows cyber security analysts earn on average $76,000 a year, and with experience can earn upwards of $100,000.