Are you struggling to hire skilled digital security talent in 2020? If so, you’re not alone. According to a Tripwire study on the infosec skills gap, 82% of security experts said that their teams were understaffed; nearly the same proportion (83%) indicated that they were feeling more overworked going into 2020 than they were a year prior.

It doesn’t appear this problem will get better anytime soon. Indeed, 85% of survey participants reported that it had become difficult over the past few years to hire skilled security professionals. If unfilled, these hiring gaps could weaken your digital security posture. Fewer security analysts means fewer experts who have the necessary skills and knowledge to enact security controls and respond to potential issues before they balloon into security incidents.

Technology in the Absence of Skilled Personnel

The infosec skills gap undoubtedly will make it difficult for you to hire experienced infosec personnel for the foreseeable future. But you’re not out of options. Tim Erlin, VP of product management and strategy, clarifies this point in another post for The State of Security:

The skills gap doesn’t have to be an operational gap. Security teams shouldn’t overburden themselves by trying to do everything on their own. They can partner with trusted vendors for managed services or subscribe to service plans where outside experts can act as an extension of the team.

Erlin isn’t alone in viewing managed services providers as a potential solution to the skills gap. In Tripwire’s study, a majority (85%) of respondents indicated that managed services could help them fulfill their digital security needs. That’s the same rate of survey participants who indicated they’d plan to invest in these types of solutions sometime in the future.

But that begs the question: what type of managed service should you be looking (Read more...)