Dive Brief:

• The U.S. government says there’s no shortage of cybersecurity professionals, reports ComputerWorld. As proof, the government brings up data based on its own hiring record.
• A year ago, the U.S. had planned to hire 6,500 cybersecurity professionals by January 2017. White House officials claimed it hired 3,000 experts in the first half of 2016. The government also held a job fair in July.
• The Department of Homeland Security said its mission was to prove the talent shortage in cybersecurity was not true. The department said it had more than 14,000 job applicants and more than 2,000 people applying in person.

​Dive Insight:

The government’s claims seem to contradict study results. A 2015 Spiceworks study shows that only 29% of companies had a cybersecurity expert on their IT staff, even though 80% of them experienced cybersecurity breaches. Also, only 7% had an executive-level cyber chief, and slightly more than half, or 55%, didn’t have access to a cyber expert or use a third-party to outsource cybersecurity jobs.

Compared with most IT professions, cybersecurity is relatively new. This might be the reason for the shortage in cybersecurity experts. US News and World Report forecasts a 36.5% growth in the profession and ranks it 34 among the 100 best jobs.