From accounting to manufacturing, logistics to engineering – the skills gap is hitting a wide swath of industries, and IT isn’t being left out. According to an Enterprise Strategy Group study titled “The Life and Times of Cybersecurity Professionals 2021,” cyber security skills gap issues continue to be a big source of worry among executives. By some accounts, the shortage in cyber security professionals is going to hit four million soon. What can you do to ensure the security of your data?
A popular option has been to ramp up tech tools in an effort to keep the cyber criminals at arm’s length. Unfortunately, this comes with its own set of problems, most notably being that IT staff members aren’t always in the know when it comes to integration or compatibility issues. Also, throwing a bunch of tech at a potential issue creates visibility issues of its own. For example, scaling up requires more managerial tasks, and if the IT team is already short, it’s easy to lose track. The results are open doors through which criminals can enter and access whatever they want.
The Automation Track
The popular answer to “how are you going to deal with the cyber security skills gap?” is most often “automation and artificial intelligence (AI).” But why automation and AI? There are a few factors that play into this, one being that most companies have trended toward digitization. But along with digitization efforts has been the proliferation of cyber attacks. By focusing on automation, whether it’s in monitoring traffic or investigative and remediated cyber threat tools, human error becomes less of a factor, leading to fewer attacks going unnoticed.
But again, throwing too many automated tools at the issue can create problems, which is why it’s advised to take a decluttering approach and keep everything simple. One way to do this is to look at your preferred workflow process. How do you want things to run? How will people fit into that process? And finally, how will technology step in to make it all easier and more efficient rather than complex, confusing, and cluttered?
Will Automation Replace IT Professionals?
Automation has been such a success that there is no doubt about its staying power. The truth is that while the technology continues to evolve, there will always be a need for humans in the equation. It’s the human factor that is needed to anticipate needs and find the right defenses against cyber criminals.
Safari Solutions is a company focused on artificial intelligence and assisting companies with the cyber security skills gap. We provide advisory services that help our clients nail down exactly what they need rather than adopt technologies that seem like a great fit but ultimately set them back. Contact us and let’s discuss our approach to keeping your data available and safe.
