Skill gap in cyber security hobbles IT industry

Hunt for professionals with right skills pushes up salary; makes hiring unaffordable for many firms

Cyber attacks on the likes of Wipro, Infosys and Capgemini have brought to the fore the challenge of filling the skills gap in the cyber security space in India, even as demand continues to outweigh supply.

This in turn has led to a sharp increase in the pay package of such professionals, who end up earning two to 10x the average salary of an IT engineer.

According to a recent workforce development survey, 59 per cent of organisations have vacant cyber security positions, with Frost & Sullivan forecasting a shortfall of 1.5 million by 2020 globally.