The growth of AI is also changing the field of cybersecurity, says a new report. Here’s how.

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Zooming In

A deep-dive into one big theme or news story every week.?

The world is becoming more digitized and interconnected than ever before. But this digitization also has its downsides.?

The volume of job postings in cybersecurity has increased at a faster pace since 2021 than pre-pandemic, according to a new report released this week by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development ( OECD - OCDE ).

The trend is likely due to the challenges that accompany remote working and the adoption of new technologies like cloud computing and AI, which increases exposure to cyber attacks, according to the report.

“Recent developments such as ChatGPT will certainly bring benefits to economies and workers in terms of productivity, but they also bear some challenges,” Fabio Manca , big data coordinator for employment, labor and social affairs at the OECD, said at a launch event on Tuesday. “AI systems that can write a text or email, for example, are indistinguishable from a human being and may cause threats from a cybersecurity point of view.”?

The OECD report, also backed by LinkedIn’s parent company 微软 , used big data to analyze over 400 million job postings across Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the U.K. and the U.S. between January 2012 to June 2022.

New technologies like AI are spurring the growth of cybersecurity

The report found that not only is cybersecurity growing, but the demand for cybersecurity professionals has also outpaced the growth in aggregate demand across all other occupations in the five countries above. Further, the rapid adoption of new digital technologies is also reshaping the cybersecurity skills that companies are looking for.

For example, the importance of knowledge in cloud computing has significantly increased in the last couple of years. And in 2021 data, specifically, the knowledge of cybersecurity-related frameworks (i.e. resources for the design and implementation of security systems) and threat-assessment skills were highly favored. In addition, governance and risk assessment and AI/machine learning were also highly relevant.

“The knowledge of AI is also becoming really key for cybersecurity professionals,” said Manca. “Obviously cybersecurity professionals can use AI to analyze threats and cyber attacks, but they also need to know tools to create malwares or phishing emails.”

AI will only become more relevant to cybersecurity professionals, said Andy Elder , CVP of security at Microsoft Solutions.?

“It will only get harder as we throw more AI and machine learning at the problem, because the threat actors are throwing exactly the same things at it,” he said. “Our legacy is our ability to recruit young, diverse, previously disadvantaged people into this industry and get them excited about being here.”

The demand for certain other roles correlates to the demand of cybersecurity workers?

The growing demand for several other digital occupations is tightly linked with the demand of cybersecurity workers, according to the report.?

The growth in the demand for cybersecurity professionals, for instance, is strongly linked with that for data/data mining analysts, computer systems engineers/architects and data warehousing specialists, with the average correlation across countries being 0.92, 0.85 and 0.81 respectively between January 2012 and June 2022.

The correlation between the demand for cybersecurity professionals and data analysts, data mining analysts or computer systems engineers/architects is hardly a surprise.?

That’s because data analysts collect and analyze data from a variety of sources, and rely on computer systems, such as database management or user interface software. So as firms increasingly digitize their businesses, and thereby relying on a wider number of data analysts, they also face increasing vulnerabilities and potential cyber attacks.

In the U.S. specifically, the report found a strong correlation between cybersecurity and digital, engineering and math-related professions. However, software developers/engineers and networks engineers/architects stood out as those with the highest correlation with cybersecurity in this country.?

The report also looks at how the five countries are trying to meet the increasing demand for cybersecurity professionals, with a case study on education and training programmes in the U.K. Read the full report here.

TechTok?

Catch up on the tech headlines you may have missed this week and what our members are saying about them on LinkedIn.

• TikTok CEO Shou Chew appeared before a House committee on Thursday, attempting to rebut fierce criticism from U.S. lawmakers and insisting that TikTok is not a tool of the Chinese government and does not pose a mental health threat to children and teens.?
• Meta-owned Instagram has begun testing "reminder ads" for events, a new format that is part digital reminder and part online ad.
• Panera Bread has started piloting 亚马逊 ’s new palm-scanning technology to pay and access their loyalty programs, as the e-commerce giant attempts to grow its contactless payment system.?
• Delivery contractors for Amazon say racial bias is creeping into the company's customer feedback system — a phenomenon that could result in lower pay for productive Black, Latino and Asian drivers and potentially even cost them their jobs.
• Speaking of Amazon, CEO Andy Jassy announced in a memo to staff earlier this week that the company will cut another 9,000 jobs in the coming weeks. It's the second round of layoffs this year at the e-commerce behemoth, which announced plans in January to reduce its workforce by 11,000, later revising the figure to around 18,000.?

Movers and Shakers

Here’s keeping tabs on key executives on the move and other big pivots in the tech industry. Please send me personnel moves within emerging tech.

• In the aftermath of Silicon Valley Bank ’s collapse, wealth management and investment banking firm Stifel Financial Corp. has hired Jacob Moseley , Matt Trotter and Ted Wilson as managing directors in its venture lending business.
• 英特尔 's EVP of accelerated computing systems and graphics Raja Koduri is leaving the chipmaker after five years. Koduri will lead a startup that focuses on broadening the usefulness of generative AI tools that are typically compatible only with Nvidia chips.
• Former Uber exec Steve Salom has joined ACE & Company as partner and co-head of its venture arm, after working with the company as an advisor and operating partner for two years.
• Twitch CEO Emmett Shear announced his resignation from the Amazon-owned company last week, after leading the company for more than a decade. He will be replaced by Daniel Clancy , a former longtime Google executive, who most recently served as Twitch’s president.?
• Former White House cybersecurity aide Rex Booth has been promoted to chief information security officer at identity security company SailPoint .

This Week in AI

Here’s where we bring you up-to-speed with the latest advancements from the world of AI.

• 谷歌 opened up its chatbot, Bard, for testing in the U.S. and U.K this week, cautiously warning users that it "may give inaccurate or inappropriate responses.” Google and LinkedIn parent Microsoft have been engaged in an AI arms race as they both ramp up their AI efforts.
• Speaking of Microsoft, founder Bill Gates this week published a report in which he declared that AI technology was as revolutionary as the smartphone and the internet. Meanwhile, LinkedIn co-founder and VC Reid Hoffman has written a book on AI assisted by AI.
• Australian design unicorn Canva has rolled out a number of “magic” AI-based software tools, including for editing images and creating templates and presentations.
• Adobe too has unveiled a batch of generative AI tools that aim to make the nascent technology "into something that more design professionals can embrace instead of fear.” The new AI models, named Firefly, were trained exclusively on non-copyrighted imagery, and the company plans to compensate designers who contribute to its training data.
• On the other hand, ex-Googler and Center for Humane Technology co-founder Tristan Harris appeared in an interview Wednesday with NBC News ’ Lester Holt, saying that AI regulation was urgently needed, and that efforts within tech companies to build "responsible AI" are insufficient.

ICYMI

Here are other top stories of the week from beyond LinkedIn in the broader world of tech.?

• Any press email sent to Twitter is being auto-replied with the poop emoji. It isn’t the first time that Twitter CEO Elon Musk has embraced the symbol.?
• PitchBook has rolled out a new tool called “VC Exit Predictor” that uses machine learning to predict a startups’ prospects of a successful exit.??
• Beloved hacking veteran Kelly “Aloria” Lum has passed away aged 41.

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