By Devin Partida, Editor-in-Chief, Rehack.com.
There’s no question that cyber security is becoming a top concern for virtually every company, regardless of industry. Both small businesses and large corporations must prioritize their cyber security strategies in such a way as to to protect their assets in the increasingly threatening landscape.
Despite the growing importance surrounding cyber security, there’s still a noticeable shortage of skilled professionals that can help companies maintain good security posture. With an AI-based cyber security talent recruitment strategy, businesses can overcome the ongoing labor shortage and protect themselves from looming threats.
Demand for cyber security talent in a tight labor market
According to a 2022 report from (ISC)² — a leading cyber security professional organization — there’s a global cyber security workforce gap of about 3.4 million people. The organization also holds that more than 700,000 unfilled positions exist across the U.S.
As cyber attacks become more frequent and intense, it’s imperative that companies hire a dedicated team of cyber security professionals to manage their IT infrastructure and defend against constant threats. Ransomware, data breaches, phishing, business email compromise and other types of cyber security issues can cost hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars.
Statistics show the cost of cyber crime is expected to reach $23.84 trillion by 2027, which is only a few years away. How can companies defend themselves properly with increasing threats and not enough skilled workers to fill open positions? AI could be the answer.
Benefits of implementing AI for cyber security recruitment
Discussions surrounding tools like ChatGPT are taking place in virtually every industry. Companies looking to improve their recruitment capabilities may be able to use the latest GPT model — GPT-4 — to do just that. For example, ChatGPT can help recruiters write outreach emails, job descriptions, candidate pitches, resume summaries and more.
However, although an AI-based recruitment strategy is not a one-size-fits-all solution to the ongoing labor shortage in the cyber security world, it can help businesses improve their chances of hiring skilled cyber security pros. Here are some of the benefits that come with adopting AI to use for cyber security recruitment.
Protects against a volatile economy
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the global economy has witnessed massive changes. It’s expected that an economic downturn will impact various sectors of the U.S. economy in 2023 and a mild recession may occur. Despite these changes, more companies are undertaking a digital transformation, including adopting AI-based solutions.
The Fed suggests a 2% inflation rate is acceptable, but recently, inflation has increased to around 6.4% for the 12 months before January 2023. With a potential recession on the horizon, businesses leveraging AI should be able to continue recruitment and combat any effects of a downturn or other volatile economic conditions. AI solutions can help reduce HR pros’ workloads, which also assists companies looking for qualified recruiters.
Standardizes job matching
Anyone who spends time job searching knows many listings require 10 to 15 years of experience, which is sometimes unrealistic. It can also be challenging for recruiters to find candidates with enough experience in the field of cyber security.
Since AI-based recruitment leverages millions of data points, it can improve hiring quality and create a standardized job-matching process for HR professionals. In addition to automating routine tasks, AI can help job recruiters source the right candidates applying for certain positions and do so more efficiently. HR pros can save significant time creating hiring criteria for future candidates, too.
Maintains compliance
Maintaining compliance is a key indicator of whether or not a business can be successful. Organizations must meet the basic legal or regulatory requirements that apply to their industry to succeed. For example, the EU’s GDPR or the CCPA are two data privacy regulations that thousands — if not millions — of companies must abide by to avoid hefty fines or penalties.
By implementing AI, businesses can garner the highest quality workers who can help their organization maintain compliance with applicable laws and regulations. The right employees should be well-versed in cyber security compliance practices. AI has also established itself as a helpful tool across industries — employees can use it to track changes to compliance regulations.
Garner and retain quality cyber security professionals
Cyber security recruitment is not easy, especially in today’s tight labor market. However, businesses must improve their recruitment strategies when hiring cyber security professionals, particularly if they want to access the best candidates in the talent pool. Organizations should prioritize AI adoption, focus on compliance and standardize their hiring practices to ensure future success in recruiting.
For more insights from Rehack.com Editor-in-Chief, Devin Partida, please click here.
