Editor’s Note: This post originally appeared on the ISACA Now blog.
One thing is certain: The need for cybersecurity professionals isn’t going away any time in the near future. As our digital footprint and the Internet of Things (IoT) continue to expand, we become increasingly vulnerable to having our private information poached with a single click, swipe or utterance. As a result, this is a field where 95 percent of people are certified, and within that group, 87 percent are specifically security or privacy certified.
As major data breaches have demonstrated time and time again, cybersecurity and compliance is the responsibility of all employees—not just those who formally specialize in cybersecurity efforts. Of course, if you’re reading this blog, you’re probably already well aware of the importance of everyday cybersecurity measures and know it’s not a matter of “if” so much as “when” your organization or company will experience a breach.
We can’t move fast enough
There’s one statistic circulating that lends itself to a real sense of urgency in the field.
According to the consulting firm Frost & Sullivan, there is expected to be a 1.8 million person worldwide workforce shortage in the field of cybersecurity by 2022. Let that sink in for a minute. Nearly 2 million people are needed to cultivate cybersecurity know-how to protect their corporations from breaches in the next five years. That’s a huge vacancy in skills and, more importantly, leadership.
And who is helping create cybersecurity leaders of today and tomorrow? Meet ISACA.
As an organization driven to promote cybersecurity awareness and skills, ISACA provides a deeper validation of skills for those working in compliance, IT audit or risk management as well as cybersecurity.
ISACA’s role is to help those in the field of cybersecurity get greater utilization out of the people already in the fold. This means enabling IT professionals to take a leadership role and increase their depth of knowledge. Greater skills validation translates to being better able to leverage yourself into leadership positions. We found these skills were validated in that 72 percent who acquired an ISACA certification noted their expertise being sought after more frequently.
As a result of those advanced, validated skills, ISACA-certified IT professionals typically have average salaries 44 percent higher than those of their non-certified peers worldwide according to the Global Knowledge 2017 IT Skills and Salary Report. With greater insights, responsibility and training comes a bigger paycheck, and this is rightfully so given the dire need for cybersecurity leadership in the coming years. In fact, ISACA certifications earned the top two spots in top paying certifications this year, and overall, six of the top 20 highest paying certifications are in the field of cybersecurity.“It’s clear from the growth in certifications from organizations like ISACA that companies and employees put increasing value on investment in skills and abilities. We see that investment across the board as the IT industry realizes that the Return on Investment for people exceeds the ROI for technology,” said Dave Buster, Global Senior Portfolio Director for Cybersecurity at Global Knowledge.
Never content and always learning
What’s more, the Report revealed ISACA-certified IT professionals weren’t content to rest on their laurels once certified. Globally, 89 percent of IT industry professionals holding ISACA credentials trained in the last year, and on top of that, 75 percent of respondents said they did so in order to cultivate new skills. Compared to their peers that are not ISACA-certified, IT professionals holding at least one ISACA certification were more likely to attend a webinar or conference and download white papers or articles to stay informed with developments in the cybersecurity landscape.
Driven to succeed
The takeaway: ISACA-certified IT professionals are driven to succeed and consistently re-evaluate the definition of success through continued engagement and learning. While ISACA can’t solve the worldwide personnel shortage for those working in cybersecurity and compliance, according to the IT Skills and Salary Report, those who turn to ISACA for skills development and certification are committed to the cause and tend to be rewarded with higher salaries given their continued efforts to seek out validation for their persistence in curtailing the everyday threats of cyberattacks.
To learn more about ISACA certifications, visit the certification page of its website.
To learn more about Global Knowledge’s ISACA certification training, visit our cybersecurity certification page and scroll to ISACA.