{"id":5856,"date":"2025-07-21T12:11:11","date_gmt":"2025-07-21T16:11:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/security-information-event-management\/?p=5856"},"modified":"2025-07-21T12:11:20","modified_gmt":"2025-07-21T16:11:20","slug":"closing-the-gap-between-perception-and-proven-cybersecurity-capabilities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/security-information-event-management\/closing-the-gap-between-perception-and-proven-cybersecurity-capabilities\/","title":{"rendered":"Closing the Gap Between Perception and Proven Cybersecurity Capabilities"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Closing<\/a><\/p>\n

Keatron Evans, the VP of Portfolio and Product Strategy at Infosec<\/a>, explains how companies can close the skills gap between perception and proven cybersecurity capabilities. <\/span><\/strong><\/em>This article originally appeared in Insight Jam<\/a>, an enterprise IT community that enables human conversation on AI.<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Cybersecurity is the backbone of digital trust, from safeguarding critical data and user identities to defending systems in an increasingly connected landscape. But there’s a problem: the industry is in dire need of skilled workers; in fact, it needs <\/span>4.8 million more workers<\/span><\/span><\/a> globally. Highly qualified talent is primed to successfully address challenges like the rapid progress of artificial intelligence (AI) and ongoing security breaches.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To close the long-standing cybersecurity skills gap, a growing number of companies are offering various certificates, credentials, and training programs that help current employees and job seekers enhance their industry knowledge. However, it’s becoming overwhelming for hiring managers to keep track of all the different learning programs available and which ones build the real-world skills your organization needs<\/a>. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For organizations to truly understand a candidate’s skillset and experience, they have to go beyond credentials and ensure candidates can actually perform the required skills. So, let’s dive further into why validating security skills has been a difficult process, the risks employers face if they don’t understand the level of expertise candidates bring to the table, and the different approaches employers can take to verify said qualifications.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Validating Cybersecurity Skills is a Challenging Process<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Employers generally agree on the specific skills that are important for the security field, like penetration testing, human risk management, and incident detection. However, not every course or certificate on the market teaches the same depth, level of skilling, or type of content. Some may just focus on understanding key concepts, whereas others dive deeper into applying, analyzing, and evaluating those same concepts.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We’re seeing hiring managers continue to rely on tried-and-true standardized certifications like CompTIA Security+ and ISC2 CISSP to gauge a candidate’s knowledge. Now, as companies also require various accreditations for specific products and solutions\u2013like Fortinet’s NSE (Network Security Expert) Certifications or Microsoft’s SC-200, for example\u2013hiring managers must be more wary about the type of assessments these learning pathways entail, and how many of those skills candidates are proficient in. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Additionally, as technology rapidly evolves, so do the tactics of those who exploit it. Threat actors are ahead of the curve\u2014using new tactics like deepfakes and generative AI or new ways to exploit new tools like this recent campaign <\/span>abusing Google Calendar<\/span><\/span><\/a> to evolve their social engineering, phishing, scamming, and more. This means that security candidates’ skills must also keep pace, and employers must evaluate the skills of new hires and current employees on an ongoing basis.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Making Skills Validation Frictionless <\/strong><\/span>\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

According to Fortinet<\/span><\/span><\/a>, more than half of technology leaders believe that some of the leading causes of security breaches stem from employees’ lack of necessary skills, training, and awareness\u2013another example of why validating candidates’ skills is essential to ensure the cybersecurity workforce remains healthy. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Thankfully, there are several tactics employers can\u00a0leverage\u00a0in skills verification, including:\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Utilizing AI to dive deeper into credentials<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Every organization requires its workforce to have unique skills and experience. However, it can be challenging to narrow down what that expertise should look like to meet their security and business needs. Thankfully, there are AI solutions on the market that help organizations determine the top skills they need their employees to have, and flag existing cybersecurity skills gaps so that employees can embark on the right training opportunities. AI can play a pivotal role in validating those skills. For example, AI can look at how employees approach problem-solving and task-completion, and use real-world data to judge how employees perform and utilize their skillset.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Understanding the expertise needed<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Hiring and cybersecurity managers need to assess what the real need is. They’ll need to check for what is a priority in the short- and long-term for their teams to look for the specific expertise in candidates. It needs to be clearly positioned as titles and responsibilities usually vary between organizations. For example, SOC analysts in smaller companies may be well versed in open-source tools or limited SIEM setups. At the same time, those working at the enterprise level would be adept at more complex platforms and environments (e.g., diverse cloud environments or having more in-depth skills with platforms like Splunk or QRadar). <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Offering hyper-personalized training<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to researching the courses and learning experience cybersecurity candidates tout on their resumes, using AI tools can help map out highly specific skilling pathways for new hires. This ensures employees can immediately receive training that meets their needs and individual goals. This will help to effectively hire people that are also highly trainable for companies’ unique needs. This process will go beyond the interview by using data about a candidate’s current skillset and the responsibilities the open role requires. Hiring managers can use AI to determine what the candidate will need to learn if they step into the job and what learning resources their employer has readily available.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Risks of Skipping Skills Validation<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

As hiring managers scramble to fill open positions, skills verification often slips into an optional “nice to have.” This needs to change. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

S<\/span>kills validation must be seen as an essential part of the hiring process because overlooking it can put the wrong people in charge of handling issues that are too complex or niche for their level of experience. In fact, forgoing skills validation can lead to several workplace and security challenges, including:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n