Intelligent CIO Middle East Issue 32 | Page 96

t cht lk for mitigating the threats posed by a fully- digitised landscape. The need to build qualified security teams A growing global population, increasing Internet penetration and connected technologies present a volatile threat landscape in which the possibility, scale and impact of cybercrime increases manifold. To illustrate, a 2017 Accenture study found that the price of cybercrime in 2018 is 23% higher than last year, costing organisations an average of US$11.7 million (nearly AED43 million) annually. On the other hand, Gartner predicts that by 2020, 60% of digital businesses will suffer major service failures due to the inability of IT security teams to manage digital risk. Thus, in order to ensure operational longevity, it is necessary for companies to build qualified security 96 INTELLIGENTCIO “ A QUALIFIED WORKFORCE IS INDISPENSABLE FOR MITIGATING THE THREATS POSED BY A FULLY-DIGITISED LANDSCAPE. teams, a task whic h often proves to be a challenge, due to the industry-wide gaps in skills and recruitment. What the industry is missing today is a comprehensive, coherent understanding of the various security roles. Cybersecurity is a multidisciplinary profession and involves a variety of critical capabilities – from policy development and governance to identity and access management – which are highly unlikely, if not impossible, to find in a single individual. Staying ahead of the curve Considering the evolving nature of the threat landscape, organisations must sharpen their focus on the three P’s – products, processes and people – and understand that having the right people to manage products and processes is the key to staying ahead. However, hiring the right people is not a simple proposition. Across the world, while experienced security professionals are in high demand, their supply remains limited, presenting a dilemma for hiring managers. As the occupation rises in prominence, www.intelligentcio.com