Pat Moran, cybersecurity partner, PwC. Image Connor McKenna
Pat Moran, cybersecurity partner, PwC. Image: Connor McKenna

Cybersecurity is one of the hottest areas in tech right now

10 Apr 2017

Want to work in cybersecurity? The world is your oyster as the talent shortage puts pressure on the industry.

Cybersecurity is one of the hottest areas for jobs in the tech sector at the moment. With technology advancing at breakneck speeds and data multiplying every day, the risk of breaches has skyrocketed.

However, the skills shortage in the infosec industry means that there is a serious problem with supply and demand. This is bad news for the industry itself, but for those who have the right experience, the jobs market is ripe for picking.

Speaking to Pat Moran, cybersecurity partner at PwC, during the first Career Zoo of 2017, we discovered the biggest trends in the sector right now.

“Ransomware is one, where emails come in and lock down your files and you can’t access them anymore without paying some financial penalties,” said Moran. “The other area is the fraudulent email.”

According to Moran, the most common fraudulent emails are typically those claiming that the recipient has won a prize and they are instructed to click on a attachment for more information, which is when the hackers can gain access to their data.

With these online security breaches happening all the time, there is no doubt that the cybersecurity industry is in desperate need of talent. “It’s such a hot area and very difficult to find experienced people,” said Moran.

He said that once companies find experienced cybersecurity candidates, they want to make sure they hold onto them.

At PwC, Moran said that training and development is an important part of retaining top talent. He said: “Continual assessment, lots of online training, lots of technical training, lots of on the job training – that’s really important.”

He also talked about another side to retaining the best staff, one that’s not just about hard work and career development. “We look after our employees,” he said.

“We do a lot of coaching, look for a lot of feedback and treat them like family.”

Jenny Darmody
By Jenny Darmody

Jenny Darmody became the editor of Silicon Republic in 2023, having worked as the deputy editor since February 2020. When she’s not writing about the science and tech industry, she’s writing short stories and attempting novels. She continuously buys more books than she can read in a lifetime and pretty stationery is her kryptonite. She also believes seagulls to be the root of all evil and her baking is the stuff of legends.

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