The financial industry has a big cyber security problem. According to IBM, the financial services industry was targeted by cyber attacks more than any other sector in 2016. That’s right financial services organizations are even attacked more often than governments. In addition to being the most targeted sector, financial services firms are being hit with some of the most sophisticated attacks.
Hackers aren’t just going after the bank itself, they are targeting ATMs, banking apps, customer credentials, employee credentials and more. Just about any means of accessing the bank is subject to attack. This is why the financial industry has been on a cyber security hiring tear the last few years bringing in top talent from all over the world to help keep banks, and their customers, safe.
Despite their best efforts, it is not enough. Experts expect that there will be a skills gap of 3.5 million cyber security jobs by 2021. Executives are, rightfully, worried that traditional hiring methods are not enough to fill the open positions.
The problem is understandable. A typical in-house recruiter is well equipped to hire for standard jobs like accountant or auditor, but cyber security jobs are much more specialized. How can you prepare a recruiter to look for candidates who have the skills required for a penetration tester, an application security engineer, an authentication and authorization specialist, a network security engineer, an intelligence analyst, or a security threat and countermeasures specialist.
Some companies try to assist recruiters by having them look for certain certification requirements, such as the CISSP or Security+. The problem with that strategy is that some of the most talented employees in the security field eschew certifications in favor of hands on knowledge.
That is why effective recruiting of cyber security professionals requires a niche recruiter, such as Oakwood Search. The team at Oakwood Search have the necessary technical experience and understanding of the cyber security market to find and recruit the right talent for your organization. Oakwood Search has more than 75 years combined experience finding the right talent and filling open positions. We have succeeded because we build trust with both our clients and the candidates.
