Cyber Needs A Diverse Talent Pool
Catherine Mulligan
Enterprise Client Leader | Risk, Health, Human Capital & Wealth Advisor for Fortune 100 Companies
"We need ALL the people!" - Julian Waits, Devo
A characteristic of the cyber insurance space is the pace of change. We use words like “evolving” and “dynamic,” and we understand ourselves as harbingers of the future of the industry. Advisen harnessed this energy at last week’s Cyber Risk Insights Conference in New York City, centering the critical issue of talent in the morning general session with a panel entitled “Making Inclusion and Equality a Priority in the Cyber Market.”
Bobbie Goldie from Chubb moderated the discussion with Joyce Trimuel, C.N.A.’s Chief Diversity Officer, and Julian Waits, the General Manager of Devo’s Cyber Business Unit. Advisen's conference always blends the needs of the intersecting industries - cyber insurance and cyber security - and this panel was no exception. The people issue is central to both.
Mr. Waits stated there are 3 million openings for cyber security defense jobs worldwide so we can’t afford to miss the opportunity to draw from the broadest possible pool of candidates. “We need all the people!” he said. “Cyber is a persistent threat so we need a persistent flow of people incoming. Let’s add more people to the fight.” With only 21% ethnic diversity and 11% gender diversity in the cybersecurity market, we have room to grow.
Ms. Trimuel provided a roadmap of tangible actions:
1. Start by assessing the current state: “you can’t solve for a problem you don’t understand.” For example, drill down on data from your employee engagement surveys. Do your diverse employees feel like they have opportunities?
2. Address unintended biases in your policies. Mr. Waits said “differentiation of thought” is paramount in unpacking bias and solving for the issues.
3. Make it sustainable by having ongoing skill-building, which Ms. Trimuel says pushes beyond passive “education.”
4. Ensure support at the top by building in accountability at the leadership level.
The road to true diversity and inclusion is “a journey,” said Ms. Trimuel, emphasizing that an ongoing series of actions has more impact than a few ad hoc efforts. By spotlighting this important topic, Advisen provided a forum for attendees to join the walk of progress.
Cyber Strategist, Cyber OSINT
5 年Cookie cutter candidates are akin to MSCE boot camp graduates. (the 2wk) Need street smarts, geopolitics, crow's nest awareness.
Catherine, I love this article. As I stated at the Advisen Ltd., Cyber Risk conference, the numbers for today’s talent pool just don’t work in the industry’s favor. We’re fighting a losing battle against the adversary. There’s a critical need to increase the pipeline of cyber workers. Including people that can qualify to participate in the fight, who would normally not be aware in Cybersecurity only makes sense. I agree with a point made in this thread that states diversity for diversity sake is useless. The way I see it, diversity and inclusion is a necessity to better poise our businesses and nation states to combat our enemy.
Cyber Insurance| Risk Mitigation| Product Management| Solution Delivery| Client Success
5 年Thank you for sharing! Diversity in the roles within the market should be another component as the industry grows. The standard roles within cyber security, cyber insurance, and pre and post incident response handling ripe for unique perspective and innovation. With that innovation comes the opportunity to showcase a variety of skill sets that expand beyond technology, legal, underwriting, claims, and forensics. It is an exciting time for expansion of opportunity and diversity.
Agile Master, AI/ML/ZTA Public Private Partnership
5 年I have seen how diversity based hiring in Federal IT has put unqualified people in key positions, lowering moral and harming mission objectives.
Agile Master, AI/ML/ZTA Public Private Partnership
5 年Not really, diversity for diversity sake has never worked.