The global cyber security workforce : an ongoing human capital crisis

Abstract

Cyber threats pose substantial risk to government, businesses and individuals. There is an alarming shortage of trained professionals and academic programs to train and produce these professionals. Many countries including the US and New Zealand see this as a human capital crisis. This paper discusses the severity and various dimensions of this crisis. An analysis of data from a cyber security research centre collected on cyber attacks is presented, practical solutions are proposed and examples from New Zealand are detailed in this paper. The paper draws conclusions based on the comparative data collected on New Zealand and Japan.