Cybersecurity professional Cybersecurity staffing concerns. (Photo: Shutterstock)

By 2021, it's expected there will be 3.5 million unfilled positions in the cybersecurity sector, according to research from Sausalito, Calif.-based Cybersecurity Ventures. Complicated by automation, these numbers could compound a problem of a potential skills gap of epic proportions that could plague industries and businesses around the world.

Seattle-based DomainTools, which provides a proprietary threat intelligence and investigation platform, announced the results of its annual "Staffing the IT Security Function in the Age of Automation" report — in conjunction with the North, Traverse City, Mich.-based research center Ponemon Institute. The study analyzed the effect of automation on current IT security practices and staffing in the U.S., UK and Asia Pacific, and found automation adoption rising but these technological developments further confounding the industry's hiring needs.

Complete your profile to continue reading and get FREE access to CUTimes.com, part of your ALM digital membership.

Your access to unlimited CUTimes.com content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:

  • Breaking credit union news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Weekly Shared Accounts podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical coverage of the commercial real estate and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, GlobeSt.com and ThinkAdvisor.com
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.

Roy Urrico

Roy W. Urrico specializes in articles about financial technology and services for Credit Union Times, as well as ghostwriting, copywriting, and case studies. Also: writer/editor of a semi-annual newsletter for Association for Financial Technology since 1997 and history projects funded by the U.S Interior Department, National Park Service and Warren County (N.Y.).