Over 30,000 IT jobs every day Mobile Technology email newsletter Get ZDNet's mobile news and reviews. There is a shortage of IT security expertise, which is leading firms to choose between outsourcing security management and sending in-house staff on training courses. Despite this, companies should do their best to assess the vulnerability of their systems and the risks to their business before implementing appropriate security measures. These measures may include outsourcing their security management, purchasing products that only require a basic level of security knowledge to install and manage, or the hiring of skilled security managers.
Firms wanting to employ security managers face perhaps the greatest challenge.
And although 42 percent of companies surveyed had dedicated security managers, only seven percent of these managers had a formal security qualification. Professor Graham Robinson, chief executive officer of ICAF, said the shortage had its roots in a lack of appropriate university courses. At present most IT degree courses do not offer security modules, he said. He argued that IT undergraduates should be given hands-on security training as part of their degree course to develop expertise. Robinson added that firms could also do more to train existing staff in security.