Cyber security is now the UK’s fifth fastest-growing profession, with the number of people working in the field having almost trebled since 2021 to 83,700, according to an analysis of more than 400 occupations tracked by the Office for National Statistics.
The analysis was conducted by managed security services provider Socura, which claimed this means there are now more cyber professionals than there are architects, bricklayers, farm workers, armed forces officers and vets – and there is now one cyber security pro for every 68 businesses in the country, up from one per 196 just five years ago.
Socura CEO Andrew Kays said the figures demonstrated that security is far from a niche industry, and has instead become a cornerstone of the British economy.
“AI may be changing the landscape, but skilled professionals are still the front line of our national defence,” said Kays. “For the UK to remain a global leader in online safety, we must ensure that we continue to develop talent with the skills needed to keep pace with modern threats and that a career in cyber is accessible to everyone.”
Yulia Cherdantseva, a reader at Cardiff University’s School of Computer Science & Informatics and director of its Academic Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security, said that in spite of the “extraordinary growth”, there was still a lot more to be done to address persistent skills gaps in the security profession.
She pointed to a need to better align academia, certification bodies and the industry itself, on areas such as training and qualifications, standardised language in job descriptions and pathways that support global mobility.
“The need for a structured knowledge framework that addresses emerging cyber security concerns in a timely manner and provides clear guidance to the community is critical,” said Cherdantseva. “Frameworks such as CyBOK exemplify this approach by offering a foundation that underpins university degree programmes, professional certifications and assured training led by the NCSC.”
An imbalanced picture
Despite the impressive top-line growth, it is important to note that the total number of cyber professionals is still a fraction of the number of active programmers and software developers, whose number exceeds 500,000 in the UK. Security workers are also outnumbered by IT directors and managers, IT business analysts, architects and system designers, IT project managers and IT user support technicians.
The data also revealed significant regional imbalances, with most security workers based around London and in South East England, followed by North West England.
And nor has much progress been made since 2021 on addressing the gender gap in security. Even though the number of women working in the sector has also more than doubled over the same period, barely 20% of cyber professionals are female, and the numbers have hovered around this point for years. This trend is reflected in the wider IT industry, where the number of women in the workforce continues to grow at a snail’s pace.
Reflecting on this, Clare Johnson, founder of Women in Cyber Unlimited, said: “It is disappointing that gender diversity in the sector remains fairly static, with women making up just over 20% of the cyber security workforce. Initiatives such as the CyberFirst Girls competition and the increasing number of “women in cyber” networks are important in addressing this imbalance.
“Providing a platform for women to showcase their skills and meet other women, alongside being visible role models, all helps to raise awareness of the importance of diversity. The more brilliant minds we have working on cyber security challenges, the more resilient we will all be,” said Johnson.
