UK companies seeking hackers to outwit cyber criminals: report

19 Nov 2014

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UK companies admit they were considering turning to ex-hackers in a bid to outsmart cyber criminals, the latest research from KPMG points out.

The survey by KPMG of 300 senior IT and HR professionals in organisations employing 500-plus staff was aimed at assessing how the corporate world was 'skilling-up' to protect itself against cyber security breaches.

According to the findings of the survey, many companies were becoming increasingly desperate as they struggled to get the right people on board.

Nearly three quarters (74 per cent) said they faced new cyber security challenges, which demanded new cyber skills.  For example, 70 per cent admitted their organisation lacked data protection and privacy expertise with the same proporations wary about their organisation's ability to assess incoming threats.

The majority were candid enough to admit that the shortfall existed as the skills needed to combat the cyber threat were different to those required for conventional IT security.  Particularly 60 per cent were worried about finding cyber experts capable of effectively communicating with the business which was vital to ensuring that cyber threat was well understood by corporate leaders outside the IT department.

While 60 per cent claimed to have a strategy to deal with any skills gaps, it was clear that there was a short supply of people who possessed the relevant skills.

Meanwhile, The Register reported that the, GCHQ took great pride in its work with academia over the last year, though it maintained a silence of Snowden.

The Cheltenham-based spy agency had backed several government initiatives designed for producing British cyber-security wannabes and graduates.

In August, Francis Maude, minister for the cabinet office, announced the certification of six Master's degrees while on a visit to GCHQ.

Universities were asked to prove that their courses measured up the stringent criteria demanded and though this did not change much of what was offer for students, the stamp of approval from one of the world's most technically and technologically adept spy agencies would be expected to be a huge draw for aspiring security professionals.

The recognised universities would be expected to qualify as Academic Centres of Excellence in Cyber Security Education. Additionally the GCHQ and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council continued to add names to the Academic Centres of Excellence in Cyber Security Research, set up in 2012, with 11 added to the list so far.

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