Building an internal cybersecurity team is more difficult now than ever before.

Businesses have recognized the importance of having a cybersecurity team to protect their systems and networks from cybercriminals looking to exploit vulnerabilities for big paydays. While some business executives are now willing to spend money to protect their assets, they struggle with finding the right IT support.

If this sounds like you, there are a few reasons why you can’t seem to snag a cybersecurity professional for your organization.

There’s been a cybersecurity skills shortage — and it’s not getting any better

There’s been a lack of skilled cybersecurity professionals over the past several years. While cybersecurity jobs are available, there aren’t enough qualified candidates to fill them. The shortage has made hiring for cybersecurity roles challenging for IT and cybersecurity firms and businesses in other industries. Seventy-six percent of cybersecurity leaders believe there’s still a skills shortage, according to a 2020 report published by Stott and May, an executive search and headhunting company. While this number was down from 88 percent in 2019, it’s still disturbingly high. The skills deficit has made it extremely difficult for organizations to build internal cybersecurity teams.

Organizations are still struggling to source cybersecurity talent

While finding candidates to fill cybersecurity roles is frustrating, many hiring managers are in the same boat. According to the report, the majority of businesses today struggle with sourcing cybersecurity talent (72 percent). Researchers of the report found that this challenge was the result of a scarcity of cybersecurity skills in the market. Other contributing factors included in the report were a lack of budget for headcount and recruitment initiatives. The bad news is hiring cybersecurity professionals isn’t going to get any easier anytime soon — especially when an overwhelming number of businesses today are making cybersecurity initiatives a top priority.

Businesses are focusing their efforts on cybersecurity

Being targeted by cybercriminals has become a top concern among businesses of all sizes. Hackers are no longer just targeting enterprises; they’re going after SMBs, governments, educational institutions, and hospitals. According to Stott and May’s report, to better protect themselves from malicious actors, 54 percent of businesses across the board have made cybersecurity efforts a strategic priority. Even though they’re committed to improving cybersecurity measures, these businesses are in for a rude awakening in the coming months — when the IT threat landscape gets even worse.

With an increase in the number of cybersecurity attacks and employees working remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic, many IT and security professionals are concerned with how the IT threat landscape will evolve. Seventy-five percent of IT and security professionals fear a more significant increase in cyberattacks as businesses begin reopening their offices, according to the results of a June 2020 survey conducted by Check Point Software Technologies. These concerns are alarming businesses across the board, which means hiring cybersecurity professionals will become even more difficult for hiring managers in the near-term future.

But more important than the why there’s a solution to your problem.

Instead of building your internal team, outsource your cybersecurity needs. An IT services provider in your area probably already has the team in place to protect you from malicious actors trying to infiltrate your networks and systems.

Let the experts do what they do best, so you can invest your time and energy in generating revenue.