CybersecurityThere’s a massive cybersecurity job gap – we should fill it by employing hackers
Cybersecurity incidents are gaining an increasingly high profile. These attacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated, using psychological manipulation as well as technology. To face these challenges, society needs cybersecurity professionals who can protect systems and mitigate damage. There is already an active population with a strong passion for cybersecurity – hackers.
Consideration to hire hackers and make them "white hat // Source: commons.wikimedia.org
Cybersecurity incidents are gaining an increasingly high profile. In the past, these incidents may have been perceived primarily as a somewhat distant issue for organizations such as banks to deal with. But recent attacks such as the 2017 Wannacry incident, in which a cyber attack disabled the IT systems of many organizations including the NHS, demonstrates the real-life consequences that cyber attacks can have.
These attacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated, using psychological manipulation as well as technology. Examples of this include phishing emails, some of which can be extremely convincing and credible. Such phishing emails have led to cybersecurity breaches at even the largest of technology companies, including Facebook and Google.
To face these challenges, society needs cybersecurity professionals who can protect systems and mitigate damage. Yet the demand for qualified cybersecurity practitioners has quickly outpaced the supply, with three million unfilled cybersecurity posts worldwide.
So it might come as a surprise that there is already an active population with a strong passion for cybersecurity – hackers. This is a term with many negative connotations. It evokes the stereotypical image of a teenage boy sat in a dark room, typing furiously as green text flies past on the computer monitor, often with the assumption that some criminal activity is taking place. The idea of including such individuals in helping build and protect cyber systems may seem counterintuitive.
But – as we have highlighted in our recent research – the reality of hacking communities is more complex and nuanced than the stereotypes would suggest. Even the phrase “hacker” is contentious for many individuals who may be labelled hackers. This is because it has lost the original meaning: of someone who uses technology to solve a problem in an innovative manner.
