Concerns over lack of cyber-security experts in Scotland

There's concern a growing number of vacancies for cyber security jobs in Scotland could see a rise in hackers gaining our personal data.

According to industry experts there’s a skill shortage and in 2017 it was estimated there were likely to be between 360 and 480 unfilled positions.

These figures are expected to rise by 20% per year unless changes are made to increase skills supply.

Consequently, there could be as many as 840 vacancies across the country by 2020.

This is in line with the rate of growth in demand for cyber-skills UK-wide.

Natalie Coull from Abertay University is an expert in the field, she said: “We simply don’t have enough people with these skills to meet industry demands.

"But Scotland in particular, certainly at the Education level, is doing a lot to try and encourage more people, or people of any age, to consider a career in cyber-security.”

She added: “A lot of companies are now trying to recruit people with cyber-security skills or qualifications and there’s simply not sufficient people out there in the job market to fill all of these vacancies.

“Companies are simply not able to put appropriate protection in place to make sure they are able to defend against an attack.

“So, if there is some malware incident or the company are explicitly targeted they simply won’t have people with the knowledge to work out how to deal with it or how to respond.”

“More regulations have now come in, so I think larger companies would recognise that they would need to have their own cyber-security skills in house – which they wouldn’t have had historically.

The Scottish Government says more people need to consider cyber-security as a career option.

It also believes the skills shortage is down to not enough school pupils, particularly girls, choosing STEM subjects or being aware of careers in the field.

Similarly, many school leavers aren't considering degrees in the subject and many who do move down south after they graduate.

Sarah Cunningham's an ethical hacking student at Abertay University, she said: “If companies don’t have the sort of people to improve their security it can makes a user’s personal information more likely to be stolen – this could lead to identity fraud.

“It creates a lot more distrust within companies, banks and businesses.

"The whole point of bank is you go to the most secure one you find.

"If you go to a bank that doesn’t have any cyber-security employees you would trust them less."