The ongoing cybersecurity skills gap is dealing a significant blow to the confidence of organizations looking to defend themselves against potential attacks.

Figures gathered by a new study from ISACA’s Cybersecurity Nexus (CSX) found that 59% of surveyed organizations said they receive five or more applications for each cybersecurity role, while 13% said they received over 20.

It comes in sharp contrast to most other corporate job openings, a majority of which attract between 60 and 250 applicants.

The demand for increasingly sophisticated cybersecurity defenses has seen a surge recently, with various companies in numerous industries starting to believe that a cyberattack is inevitable, rather than possible.

Worryingly, many business leaders believe they are not equipped to deal with the consequences of a breach. For example, 37% of surveyed organizations claim that fewer than one in four candidates have the qualifications needed to adequately safeguard against any potential threats.

“Though the field of cybersecurity is still relatively young, demand continues to skyrocket and will only continue to grow in the coming years."

Christos Dimitriadis, ISACA board chair and group director of information security for INTRALOT, said: “Though the field of cybersecurity is still relatively young, demand continues to skyrocket and will only continue to grow in the coming years.

“As enterprises invest more resources to protect data, the challenge they face is finding top-flight security practitioners who have the skills needed to do the job. When positions go unfilled, organizations have a higher exposure to potential cyberattacks. It’s a race against the clock.”

Unfilled positions are proving to be a problem on both sides of the Atlantic, with as many as 25% of US companies stating that it can take over six months to fill a cybersecurity role, while in Europe, nearly one-third of positions go unfilled.

ESET researcher Stephen Cobb says that over 80% of businesses in Europe and the US have reported that hiring for cybersecurity roles was somewhat or very difficult in multiple surveys, including his own. 

Measures are already being taken in the UK to try and tackle the country’s own cybersecurity skills gap, with a new government project promising to increase the emphasis on helping young people develop the expertise that employers are searching for. The Cyber Schools Programme aims to encourage talented youngsters aged 14 to 18 to eventually take up a role in cybersecurity.

US efforts to close the cybersecurity skills gap were recently discussed here on We Live Security.