Abolaji Adebayo 
There has been advocacy for training of youths in cybersecurity to bridge the gap in the field. Stakeholders in the tech ecosystem made the call as Nigeria lacks cybersecurity experts to handle its system. According to a report released by the International Information System Security Certification Consortium (ISC2), Nigeria and South Africa are facing a scarcity of cybersecurity professionals. However, while the scarcity is on a global scale, the report highlights that the two countries, which were the only African countries considered for the study, are way behind other countries globally.
Nigeria, in particular, has been identified as having one of the lowest numbers of cybersecurity experts, signaling a pressing need for enhancing digital security within the nation. According to the global report, as of 2023, Nigeria has a mere 8,352 professionals, while South Africa recorded a more considerable but still relatively low figure of 57,269 experts. According to the ISC2 report, there is a staggering global deficit of four million cybersecurity jobs that need to be filled, under- scoring the growing demand for skilled professionals in this field.
The report did not specify the exact number of professionals required by each country but emphasized that American and European nations significantly outpace their counterparts on other continents in terms of the number of experts in that field. The report highlights the stark contrast between the rising demand for cybersecurity professionals and the inadequate supply. Although the global workforce expanded by 8.7 per cent year on year to reach 5.5 million in 2023, it is evident that the growth is still unable to meet the soaring demands for cybersecurity expertise.
The report stated: “ISC2 estimates the global cybersecurity workforce at 5.5 million, representing an 8.7 percent increase year over year and nearly 440,000 new jobs. All regions saw growth this year, but these gains are particularly high in our two new Middle East countries, Asia-Pacific and North America.“ The workforce gap, as calculated by ISC2, signifies the disparity between the number of cybersecurity professionals required by organisations to secure their systems and the number of experts available for hire.
This gap continues to widen, increasing by an additional 12.6 per cent in the past year, with the most significant rise observed in Asia-Pacific and North America. Despite the urgency for a bolster cybersecurity workforce, the report highlights how the current macroeconomic climate is leading many organisations to implement cost-saving measures, including budget cuts, layoffs, hiring freezes, and pro- motion freezes. These cutbacks, especially within cybersecurity teams, have far-reaching implications, affecting productivity, job satisfaction, and skill development.
The increasing demand for these professionals is linked to the increasing sophistication of cyber threats posing significant challenges to organisations and governments worldwide. High-profile cyber attacks, data breaches, and ransomware incidents have underscored the critical need for skilled experts who can protect sensitive information, critical infrastructure, and digital assets. As hackers become more sophisticated, the demand for cybersecurity professionals capable of anticipating, mitigating, and responding to these threats has risen sharply.
Also, regulatory requirements and compliance standards are evolving to address cybersecurity concerns, compelling organisations to invest in experts in that space. Again, the rapid digitisation of businesses and society, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, has expanded the attack surface for cybercriminals, while the widespread adoption of remote work, cloud computing, and IoT devices has also created new vulnerabilities that necessitate robust cybersecurity measures.
