Views from nearly 1,000 cybersecurity leaders reveal that while investment is increasing as organizations move to address their most pressing skills needs, time pressures and other obstacles are proving harder to overcome.

ISC2 Research: How Enterprises Use Training to Strengthen Cybersecurity TeamsCybersecurity professionals face a constantly evolving landscape of threats, new technologies and changing organizational priorities. To stay on top of – and indeed ahead – of these needs, maintaining and developing relevant skills is an essential requirement. However, with many new and emerging cybersecurity skills in short supply, training and development remain among the most pressing challenges for employers and professionals alike.

A new research report from ISC2, How Enterprises are Strengthening Their Cybersecurity Teams Through Training, examines how enterprise organizations (5,000+ employees) across Canada, Germany, India, Japan, the U.K. and the U.S. approach security team training.

Through the responses of 995 security leaders who are personally involved in their organization’s cybersecurity team training decisions, the report explores current enterprise training trends, in particular looking at the skills development that organizations are prioritizing, how they approach funding and delivering training, and how they measure the return on that time and financial investment.

AI Driving Training Priorities

Key findings in the report include:

  • Nearly three-quarters of respondents (73%) said their organization’s security training budget has increased over the past 12 months.
  • Over half (54%) said their organizations are determining skills needs based on the adoption of new technologies or systems.
  • Almost half (47%) said that artificial intelligence (AI) is the most pressing skill their organization is addressing or planning to address through training.
  • While nearly all security leaders said their organization supports training during work hours, over half (53%) cite time and scheduling challenges as the primary barrier to effective security training.
  • Many organizations are staying ahead of the curve, with 40% of respondents noting their organizations are proactively updating skills and training as needs evolve, while another 54% reported their organizations are managing to keep pace with emerging technologies and needs.

This report builds on the findings of the most recent ISC2 Cybersecurity Workforce Study, which identified a range of needs and shortages across both technical and non-technical skills. Respondent insights show how organizations are tackling these needs and building valuable new skills within existing teams. By utilizing a range of internal and external resources and approaches, they are bolstering cybersecurity resilience and preparedness by developing teams that can keep pace with the march of technological change, organizational needs and threat sophistication.

The full report is available here.

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