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EDITOR’S QUESTION
THOMAS PARSONS, SENIOR DIRECTOR –
TENABLE RESEARCH, TENABLE
D
iversity isn’t just a nice to have, it’s an
essential key to innovation, particularly
in cybersecurity. Put simply; a lack of
diversity is a barrier to success.
There are 2.93 million cybersecurity
positions open and unfilled around
the world, according to non-profit IT
security organisation (ISC)². An influx of
cybersecurity talent is important to tackling
the ever-expanding attack surface and
threat landscape. If the industry is going to
be successful and close the cyber exposure
gap, increasing diversity and inclusion must
be a priority.
“
ONLY THROUGH
INCREASED
INCLUSION AND
DIVERSITY IN
PERSPECTIVE CAN
WE TACKLE THE
CYBERSECURITY
CHALLENGES
OF TODAY,
TOMORROW AND
WELL INTO THE
FUTURE.
www.intelligentcio.com
Adversaries are diverse and as defenders, we
need to have a similar breadth of experience
and knowledge to draw upon in order to
outpace the attacker and be prepared for
anything that could come up.
This can be as simple as the language we
speak, right up to the way we think. The
more real life, diverse experiences people
can bring to the table helps offer a unique
perspective when assessing risk and getting
into the mind of a threat actor.
Another benefit of a diverse workforce
is avoiding subconscious bias and group
thinking, which is critically important in an
innovative industry like cybersecurity that
requires bold, new ideas.
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“
IF THE INDUSTRY
IS GOING TO BE
SUCCESSFUL
AND CLOSE THE
CYBER EXPOSURE
GAP, INCREASING
DIVERSITY AND
INCLUSION MUST
BE A PRIORITY.
When thinking about ideal skills, often you
will see cybersecurity jobs – especially in
areas such as threat intelligence – that
require the ability to understand and
decipher the languages that threat actors
frequently use. This could be computing
programs such as Python, Java, etc., but also
spoken languages.
Only through increased inclusion and
diversity in perspective can we tackle the
cybersecurity challenges of today, tomorrow
and well into the future. n
INTELLIGENTCIO
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