OVERVIEW

Since inception, the Information Security industry has had a perpetual human capital and skills gap. With the advent of a variety of Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) programs such as EdX, Khan Academy and The Great Courses, the barrier to upskill across numerous domains is easier than ever. In addition, as companies explore removing college degree requirements, job requisitions open up to more candidates. As a result, the opportunity for a growing successful career in Information Security has not been greater. Despite this, the perception of the skills gap still exists.

As a result of these false perceptions, employers may miss out on skilled candidates with unique backgrounds and perspectives. Thus, organizations may suffer from the same issues as intelligence agencies by being stuck in old ways of thinking, much in the way Richard Heuer describes in The Psychology of Intelligence in 1999. By integrating these new and unique perspectives, employers can build in diversity of thought with different base skill-sets and come up with new perspectives and innovations.

This talk will dissect how to approach this systemic issue. Included will be the presenter’s personal experiences, professional experiences with individuals transitioning into the industry, and provide concrete solutions for companies looking to overcome this hurdle. Solutions will focus on how to apply these new hiring paradigms from the top down, in addition to a potential avenue to resolution by building a pipeline avenue by creating relationships with education institutions.