Tag Archive for: talent

Cybersecurity In A Digital World And The War For Talent

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By Merlin Piscitelli, Chief Revenue Officer, EMEA at Datasite

Sophisticated cyberwarfare and rising geopolitical tensions mean that cybersecurity threats are evolving at an even faster pace, impacting entire businesses, their operations and their hard-won reputations. 

Major microchip and electronic powerhouses were recently hit by cyber-attacks, where parts of their businesses were completely compromised, taken offline for a few days and employee accounts exposed. Some of these breaches were even done by the same hacking extortion group.

As a result, the need to fight cyber-crime has become even more important in an increasingly digital and interconnected world. This is resulting in record levels of investment in cybersecurity as it becomes a top priority for company leaders, boards, and investors, particularly as governments warn of an increased threat of cyber intrusions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

The cybersecurity boom

In the last 12 months, the cybersecurity sector has achieved double-digit growth and there are now almost 2,000 firms active within the UK providing cyber security products and services. In fact, the UK cybersecurity industry contributed around £5.3 billion to the UK economy in 2021, rising by a third from 2020, and cybersecurity firms have raised more than £1 billion in external investments in 84 deals.

Simply put, demand for cybersecurity increased dramatically as the pandemic sent the digital revolution into hyperdrive. The pandemic not only accelerated consumer adoption of digital solutions, but it also accelerated enterprise digitization strategies. 

With cybercriminals rising to the challenge, companies now need cybersecurity solutions to protect a host of new entry points. However, with over 2.5 million cybersecurity jobs available and the war for talent rapidly gaining momentum, the industry is feeling the strain as the pressure grows for more defenses.

Addressing the ‘skills gap’

Despite rapid market growth, the UK’s cybersecurity talent pool has fallen short by around 10,000 people a year. In fact, the UK’s cyber skills shortage surged by more than a third in the previous 12 months and cybersecurity is now the…

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Skyrocketing cryptocurrency bug bounties expected to lure top hacking talent

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As high-stakes cryptocurrency and blockchain projects proliferate and soar in value, it’s no surprise that malicious actors were enticed to steal $14 billion in cryptocurrency during 2021 alone. The frantic pace of cryptocurrency thefts is continuing into 2022.

In January, thieves stole $30 million in currency from Crypto.com and $80 million in cryptocurrency from Qubit Finance. February started with the second-largest decentralize finance (DeFi) theft to date when a hacker exploited a token exchange bridge in Wormhole to steal $320 million worth of Ethereum.

The largest cryptocurrency hack so far took place last August when blockchain interoperability project Poly Network suffered a hack that resulted in a loss of over $600 million. In an unusual move, Poly unsuccessfully attempted to publicly negotiate with the hacker a post-theft “bug bounty” of $500,000 in exchange for returning the $600 million, a bounty worth six times more than that typically offered in traditional cryptocurrency bug bounty programs.

$2 million paydays set the pace

With so much money at stake, at least $3 trillion by some calculations in late-2021, it’s also not surprising that bona fide bug bounties in the cryptocurrency sector are skyrocketing. A week ago, noted white-hat hacker Jay Freeman announced that he earned a $2,000,042 million bug bounty from Ethereum layer-2 scaling project Optimism for discovering a bug that would have allowed an attacker to print an arbitrary quantity of tokens.

Freeman is not alone in generating a $2 million payday from a cryptocurrency bounty. Gerhard Wagner submitted a critical vulnerability last October that affected the Polygon Plasma Bridge, which put $850 million at risk, earning a $2 million bounty in the process. In December, another critical vulnerability in Polygon, which put $18 billion at risk, generated a $2.2 million bounty for white-hat Leon Spacewalker. Both of these bounties were paid via Web3 bug bounty platform Immunefi.

On the same day Freeman’s bounty was made public, Ethereum-based protocol MakerDAO announced a maximum $10 millon reward through Immunefi for white hat hackers who point out legitimate security threats in…

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Businesses invest in talent

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Businesses are desperate for workers. The September Jobs Report issued by the National Federation of Independent Business, which surveys 10,000 small business owners and members, shows a record-high 51% of small business owners have job openings they could not fill. With the national quit rate hitting an all-time high of 2.8% in April and now hovering at 2.7%, more than ever, businesses are focused on retention and professional development. And that represents a huge opportunity for colleges and universities.

New Hampshire’s higher education institutions are increasing their professional development offerings and tailoring them to fill the growing skills gap. Many offer targeted, shorter-duration courses so students and workers can quickly step into new or higher positions.

Some schools are providing microcredentials, microcertifications or professional badges to get learners on the job faster. Others are partnering with local businesses to offer customized coursework or on-the-job training through apprenticeships.

Many companies are picking up the tab for these trainings.

“I think there’s a real interest these days in working with employers directly,” says Travis Willard, chief production officer at Southern NH University in Manchester.

The pandemic exacerbated existing health care worker shortage in the state, and many institutions of higher learning report high demand for licensed nursing assistants, medical assistants and other health-related programs.

Lynn Szymanski, director of workforce development at Great Bay Community College in Portsmouth, says her school offers a 12-week program in medical assisting — eight weeks in the classroom and four weeks of externship in a medical office — four times a year, with classes filled.

Alison Chisolm, director of workforce development, entrepreneurship programs and community partnerships at River Valley Community College in Claremont, Lebanon and Keene, says they offer allied health programs “as fast as we can, with as many as we can and we’re barely keeping pace.” An accelerated nursing program at Franklin Pierce University’s Manchester campus allows those with a bachelor’s degree to earn a nursing degree in as little…

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As Atlanta companies compete for talent, workplace flexibility is seen as key

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Home Depot is set to hold a virtual corporate career day on Tuesday. It’s the first time the retail giant has put on such an event.

The Atlanta-based company isn’t alone in trying to stand out in a competitive labor market. And flexibility is seen as one of most important things workers are looking for.

Among the most prized job candidates, Home Depot is hoping to connect with are those with backgrounds in computer science, cyber security and supply chain management.

“They have more options now,” said Eric Schelling, vice president of global talent acquisition for Home Depot. “The pandemic has provided more options for them with remote, work for different states or different companies around the country.”

It’s a familiar story. The tight labor market has led to companies being more flexible about where employees live and where they do their work.

“Certain roles, depending on the work that you’re working on, will be roles where you can work from home long term. Others will be where it’s a little bit more of a hybrid approach,” Schelling said.

That hybrid approach is catching on, says Johnny C. Taylor, CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management. SHRM, as it’s known, includes more than 2,000 Georgia companies and non-profit groups as members.

Johnny C. Taylor is president and CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management. (Emil Moffatt/WABE)

“What employees want is flexibility. And that may mean I work from home two days a week in the office three days a week,” said Taylor. “But I don’t want to just totally work from home, especially millennials and Generation Z, because they make relationships at work, they build friendships, this is how they build community.”

For others, flexibility means the ability to work and care for children or elderly relatives. Taylor says developing this kind of workplace in an equitable way, has been a challenge.

“That is really proving to be quite vexing for employers to not create two cultures: the culture of people who work at home and the people who are in the office,” said Taylor.

But companies that strike the right balance, he says, have a better chance at landing the employees they’ve been looking…

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