Cyber attacks are on the rise in Australia, and many of them are state sponsored. The defence, according to the federal government, is better training in cyber security. For students, that means jobs – many, many jobs.
Already there’s a huge shortfall in certified employees in the cyber security sector. There are literally thousands of jobs on seek.com for people certified in cyber training. As the head of cyber security at the Australian Signals Directorate, Joe Franzi, said, there is an insatiable appetite for cyber security professionals.
He was talking before the COVID19 outbreak. Since then cyber attacks have accelerated. During Covid-19, the proportion of attacks targeting home workers increased from 12% of malicious email traffic to more than 60% six weeks later, according to data from cybersecurity company Darktrace.
On Friday the 22nd of June, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said a foreign government, presumably China though he didn’t say that, had escalated malicious cyber attacks against Australian governments and businesses.
There hasn’t been any large scale breaches of personal data … yet. The frequency of attacks has increased in recent months and all sort of organisations have been targeted – companies, political organisations, education, health and essential service providers and operators of infrastructure.
Media reports suggest that in response, the government is considering legislating minimum standards of cyber security for some businesses.
Minimum standards for cyber security will involve the need for experts. Business will need staff who understand cyber attacks, how to recognise them and what to do. People with skills in cyber security will be in even higher demand.
There will be a huge range of jobs on offer over the next couple of years from governments, big businesses, organisations such as superannuation funds and unions, and small businesses. Some will be for experienced technology professionals but the majority will be for new entrants into cyber security, and individuals who have some experience and some training, but want to take the next step.
The time to retain is now.
