Global Cybersecurity Talent Shortage Intensifies During COVID-19
… also enticing to many job seekers.
CF: How are organizations coping with the global cybersecurity talent shortage? Is technology useful in this regard? If so, how?
DC: As the talent shortage continues to plague the cybersecurity industry, organizations are looking to vendors to bridge the gap. It is not just about detection, but also how an organization responds. Crowdsourcing is a valuable tool to use to leverage the expertise of other peer groups. And this is at the crux of our collective defense idea, that it is easier together than alone. With regard to technology, it is really three-pronged. What we need is behavioral analytics for better detection, a collective defense approach/early warning system and seamless integrations.
CF: What are examples of the real-world consequences of the cybersecurity talent shortage?
DC: The talent shortage and its consequences bring to mind Einstein’s definition of insanity. Paraphrased, you cannot do the same thing over and over and expect a different result. Every day we are seeing a major hack against an industrial organization or a new nation-state hacker targeting the election. This visible increase in attacks, breaches and data exfiltration just reinforces the fact that we can’t do this alone and need to collectively work together against such threats to build a stronger defense.
CF: Are there any positive developments that could help reduce the shortage in the months ahead?
DC: Harkening back to our idea of collective defense, it really represents the foundation of why IronNet was formed in the first place. Collective defense is a method to help us better defend in a community environment versus in isolation. This is a time where we need more cyber experts than ever before, and this concept could be one of the answers to reducing the talent gap as more students and young professionals understand that they can work smarter – not harder –when putting their heads together. In the same vein, AI and ML will continue to be a successful method for identifying potential threats, balanced with the human element for maximum efficiency and accuracy.
NetStar: Smishing on the Rise
Cybercriminals increasingly are using “smishing” to carry out fraudulent activities, including identity theft and malware distribution.
NetStar‘s partners globally protect over 1.2 billion endpoints, including mobile devices, using the company’s technologies. These partners have a vested interest in identifying smishing attacks.
NetStar works with mobile service operators, MSSPs, web application firewall vendors, gateway appliance vendors, and others.
NetStar identifies hosts’ IP addresses that source smishing attacks, as well as URLs embedded in smishing attacks. The company adds these URLs and IPs to its threat database on a continuous basis. And NetStar updates its URL and IP categorization databases accordingly.
The NetStar team can quickly help partners without …