Cybersecurity

The continuously growing cyber attacks across the world have been heightening threats across corporations, businesses, small and large, and governments over the last several years. In 2019 alone, malicious actors have compromised hundreds of millions of users data. At organizational level, business email compromise (BEC) has cost organizations over US$26 billion in just three years, leading to a global law enforcement movement named Operation reWired into action that specifically focused on disrupting and dismantling global BEC campaigns.

As the frequency and intensity of the cyber attack and breaches grow at an alarming pace, businesses worldwide are leveraging all kinds of sophisticated technologies and methods to safeguard their critical business assets. Most business leaders are now considering cybersecurity as their top priority, investing heavily in cybersecurity solutions. 

Unfortunately, the shortage of cyber talents is creating challenges in front of businesses. This means organizations are still struggling to recruit the specialized security talent required to secure companies against increasing cyber threats. According to the (ISC)² Cybersecurity Workforce Study, there is an estimated need of 4.07 million cybersecurity professionals globally. In the country wise perspective, the current cybersecurity workforce estimate is 289,000 in the UK, while 121,000 in France, 133,000 in Germany, alongside 291,000 across EMEA.

These skills gaps are posing a heavy toll on corporations and institutions, impeding economic growth, increasing generational inequity, jeopardizing companies' growth measures, and creating massive strain regarding the future of work. In a CSIS survey of IT decision-makers across eight countries, 82 percent of employers said a shortage of cybersecurity skills, while 71 percent believe this talent gap causes direct and measurable damage to their organizations. 

However, to bridge the deficiency of cybersecurity professionals, companies are looking to move overseas. For instance, many American companies are turning to Europe and other regions whose new strategies are churning out the software professionals needed to close the cyber skills gap. Many firms are even establishing overseas operations in places that offer manifold benefits, where the talent pool is profuse and the overall cost of doing business is lower.

Closing the Gap with Decentralization 

Decentralization is usually found in the systems underlying cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and can significantly augment the number of points of failure. In the cybersecurity landscape, decentralization means the elimination of single points of failure, decentralization of data storage, and traceability of unalterable records. Given this, decentralization offers a means to improve system security and resilience by improving the number of points of failure.

Uber’s decentralized transportation system enables any person with a valid license to generate income as an on-demand driver. However, many industries have adopted the term “uberization” to describe the transition to decentralized platforms as a means to connect buyers and service providers. Accenture has noted the term for the oil and gas industry. 

While the cybersecurity industry is facing a shortage of germane talents, Uber’s decentralization model could be effective. This is the best and most realistic option for society to lessen the many restraints caused by the lack of cybersecurity talent available to the market.

The model could also offer both a short-term solution and a long-term answer to the increasing cybercrime arena. For instance, if an organization had access to hundreds of thousands of security analysts from around the world, the decentralized threat intelligence sharing could lead to the greatest level of threat reduction, improving their ability to respond to new attacks. While decentralization is expected to be a major key to defeat cybercrime, it will require the global community of analysts who share both threat intelligence and practical solutions in terms that are applicable for people of various skill levels.