Cybersecurity specialist a booming job market

Author Moonshot.news

Published on: 20/05/2025

The rapid evolution of cyberthreats has created a growing demand for skilled cybersecurity professionals. Cybersecurity is among the fastest-growing skill areas, yet faces a talent gap of up to 4.8 million unfilled positions. Only 14% of organisations have the skilled talent needed, according to the  World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Future of Jobs 2025 report. Addressing this requires public–private partnerships, Gen AI-driven reskilling, and quantum upskilling, shaping a future workforce that is not just tech-savvy, but adaptable, creative, and collaboratively developed, the WEF says in a new report.

17% of cyberattacks and data leaks will by 2027 involve generative AI. Since the release of GenAI, attackers are increasingly using tools along with large language models (LLMs) to carry out large-scale attacks, marketing research firm Gartner says in a forecast.

Worldwide end-user spending on information security is projected to total $212 billion in 2025, an increase of 15.1% from 2024. Global information security end-user spending is estimated to reach $183.9 billion in 2024.

“To address these challenges, public–private partnerships (PPPs) are emerging as a promising approach to cybersecurity workforce development. By using the strengths of both public-sector and private-sector actors, PPPs can facilitate targeted initiatives that enhance skills development, expand career opportunities and build sustainable cybersecurity talent pipelines”, WEF says. 

To maximise the benefits and overcome challenges, the WEF paper identifies three essential foundations for establishing successful PPPs: 

• Selecting appropriate external and internal partners to drive the effort and building trust through transparency and open communication. 
• Focus on delivering measurable results, such as creating training centres or designing structured training programmes, while remaining adaptable to evolving cybersecurity and workforce needs. 
• Ensuring effective project management: Strong governance and project execution depend on thorough demand assessments, well-defined roles and responsibilities for all involved stakeholders and performance metrics that drive accountability and long-term success. 

“By drawing on shared resources and expertise, PPPs can strengthen digital resilience, create employment pathways and play a vital role in building a skilled and diverse cybersecurity workforce.”

Cyber threats are evolving. Threats related to data loss impacted 28% of organisations in 2024, up by 14% vs previous year. 57% of companies said they will increase their budget for cybersecurity over the next 12 to 24 months, according to consultancy Deloitte Global’s survey Future of Cyber.

A survey reinforces the urgency of securing cyber systems, as 25% of respondents from cyber-mature businesses reported 11 or more cybersecurity incidents 2024, a 7% increase of incidents since the 2023 survey”, the report says.

The top three expected outcomes from cybersecurity initiatives are protecting intellectual property (46%), improving threat detection and response (44%), and increasing efficiency and agility (44%), according to the Deloitte report.

Generative AI is augmenting cybercriminal capabilities, contributing to an uptick in attacks manipulating people to share information they shouldn’t share, World Economic Forum says in a cybersecurity outlook.

Global spending on cybersecurity will grow by 12.2% year on year in 2025 and reach $377 billion in 2028. The increasing complexity and frequency of cyberthreats — accelerated by generative AI and AI in general — are driving organisations worldwide to adopt more advanced defensive measures, market research firm International Data Corporation (IDC) says in a forecast.