GFCE Report on “Developing Cyber Security as a Profession”, by Working Group D on Cyber Security Culture & Skills

News Article | The Hague 8 August 2022

We are happy to share that a new deliverable on “Developing Cyber Security as a Profession” developed by Working Group D is ready for you to read.

In 2022 members of the Working Group D of #theGFCE joined forces to create a new Project Team and developed a new initiative to raise awareness on the topic of “Developing Cybersecurity as a profession”. To do so, a survey was circulated to gather international views. The aim was to explore how we can cement professional standards and quality assurance in the profession without adding unnecessary barriers to entry and progression and how we can ensure we are attracting the next generation of cyber security professionals.

The analysis of the survey’s responses has been gathered under a Report which includes key findings and recommendations generated from the survey.

Reflecting on the results, recommendations in the report are pointed to five broad areas:

1. Stakeholders should consider how to best use awareness campaigns to attract more people to pursue a career in cyber security.
2. Governments should work with industry to consider how to raise awareness of qualifications, certifications, degrees, and apprenticeship standards.
3. Policy makers should consider a range of interventions to develop cyber security as a profession without creating barriers to entry, considering other more limited interventions, depending on their own circumstances, such as establishing a voluntary register of qualified practitioners.
4. Stakeholders should consider the particular challenges faced by developing countries, such as the affordability of qualifications. Stakeholders should consider steps to address these kinds of barriers.
5. Further research is needed, particularly in areas such as the role of universities and the need for effective and accessible training programmes.

We first want to thank the Project Team of Working Group D for their work and efforts in putting this together: Paul Blaker (United Kingdom), Heather MacLean (Canada), Basie von Solms (University of Johannesburg), Anna Moran (United Kingdom), Richard Harris (MITRE), Nthabiseng Pule (C3SA), Danielle Santos (USA NIST) and Chris Martin (United Kingdom) and observers Tereza Horejsova and Giouli Lykoura (GFCE Secretariat). Secondly, a big thank you to the 200+ participants who have contributed to this research by completing the survey and thus making the research possible.

Want to know more? Read the report here!