NEWS RELEASE: Demand for cyber professionals surges due to war, security threats

New Canadian job website aims to fill critical roles

The dire need for cybersecurity professionals – already a major concern due to cyber attacks, ransom demands and data breaches – is now even more severe due to Russia’s aggression, according to Canadian cyber leaders.

“The war in Ukraine has accelerated the pace of cyberwarfare, and nations are very concerned about industrial attacks and espionage, so there’s an increased demand for cybersecurity talent,” said Francois Guay, founder of the 10,700-member strong Canadian Cybersecurity Network.

At the Vancouver International Privacy & Security Summit this month, several speakers expressed concerns that Russia is turning to cybersecurity attacks and demanding ransoms to increase funds for its war chest, said Guay, a cybersecurity recruiter and executive advisor.

The cybersecurity talent shortage was already acute, after the trend to more remote work with employees using cloud-based platforms increased demand for protecting company systems against hackers.

The World Economic Forum reported in January that “there is an undersupply of cyber professionals—a gap of more than 3 million worldwide."

But Guay says there’s good news in Canada: A new initiative was already underway to address the shortage. A new Canadian Cybersecurity Jobs website to help companies find cyber professionals is launching today, March 28.

“Canada currently has no dedicated cybersecurity job board,” he said. “We wanted to create an environment for companies to fill critical security roles and for candidates to access jobs quickly.”

The job board was one of the key requests when he surveyed members of the Canadian Cybersecurity Network.

CanadianCybersecurityJobs.com will allow professionals to search by job type, location or by company. The site already has more than 480 jobs available from 312 employers, with new postings each day, as well as blog posts with information from Canadian professionals.

The lead sponsor is TELUS, and other sponsors have been expressing interest as the site launches, said Guay. “We’re excited to have TELUS as the inaugural lead sponsor.”

It’s Canada’s only cybersecurity-specific job site, said Guay. “You can search for analyst positions and all the different specialties more effectively.”

Is it a good time to enter cybersecurity?

“Absolutely,” said Guay, who noted the demand for cyber professionals is expected to continue to rise.

Forbes reported in January that according to the Allianz Risk Barometer, “Cyber perils are the biggest concern for companies globally in 2022.”