Information Security

The world needs more cyber security professionals right now, and you could be the one that saves the day!

- Arnab Mukherjee

Last month, we told you all about why cybersecurity should be your problem too. Little did we know that within a few days that point would be made clearer than ever following a global event. The WannaCry ransomware attack has done more for cybersecurity awareness than years of efforts from cybersecurity companies. Right now, everybody and their grandparents want to know about cybersecurity and how they can secure their digital selves – as they say, “once bitten, twice shy”. And in such an environment, it is needless to say that cybersecurity is a lucrative career almost everywhere in the world – including India.

THE REQUIREMENTS

India was one of the worst hit countries in the WannaCry outbreak – more than 40,000 systems were affected. And that’s just the disclosed number. According to another research from an independent security firm Quick Heal Technologies, about 48,000 computers in India were attacked by WannaCry, with most  incidents in West Bengal. So even if the numbers might vary a bit, they’re no less significant.

In fact, the demand for cybersecurity professionals is outpacing the supply of qualified workers. According to NASSCOM, as of 2015 we had about 50,000 cyber security professionals in India. That number hasn’t gone up much since and we will require one million cyber security professionals by 2020 to meet the demand. Currently, India’s cyber security faces a shortfall of 4.7 lakh experts. So, in case you were wondering if cybersecurity has lost its sheen as a career choice, put those thoughts aside in a box (preferably locked securely) and read on.

THE SKILLS