A day doesn’t go by without the constant drumbeat of news about cyber criminals finding their latest victims. Businesses, government agencies and other organizations have been hard hit by hackers trying to infiltrate computer systems with the intention of stealing critical information or causing havoc. The problem is expected to intensify in the coming years, as the data-driven environment continues to grow at a rapid rate, with new innovations in data analytics, cloud computing, digital mobility and other technologies increasingly hitting the marketplace. As a result, the demand for IT professionals who specialize in cybersecurity solutions will continue to escalate. According to a Zion Market Research Report, the cybersecurity industry is expected to grow to $181.77 billion over the next several years. The report attributes the demand for these services to heightened cyber criminal activity worldwide, as organizations fail to adopt the rigorous measures needed to protect highly valuable and sensitive data. The report also projects that cybersecurity will grow exponentially due to increasing internet penetration and more organizations opting to migrate to cloud-based systems to store data.

Despite dire warnings of rising rates of cybercrime and other threats to IT security, businesses seem hardly prepared for what lies ahead. According to Ernst and Young’s 19th Global Information Security Survey 2016-17, just over one-fifth of the 1,735 respondents, including global executives, information security managers and IT leaders, fully consider information security in the strategic planning of their operations. The survey also found that nearly 90 percent failed to measure the financial impact of every data breach and nearly 50 percent were clueless on the financial damage it caused. This apparent lack of concern or preparation for cyber attacks is compounded by the fact that there is a critical shortage of professionals trained to handle cybersecurity threats. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the number of unfilled cybersecurity jobs in the United States may reach 1.5 million by 2019. That is clearly a ticking time bomb unless corrective measures are taken now to give more IT professionals the skills that will be required to help stem the spread of cyber crime.

That is clearly a ticking time bomb unless corrective measures are taken now to give more IT professionals the skills that will be required to help stem the spread of cybercrime.

As technology increasingly becomes more and more pervasive in our everyday lives, the need for protection against cyber attacks on systems, networks and data remains high. Businesses and other organizations must take the appropriate steps to ensure that they optimize their security programs, in order to better manage risk rather than just focusing on compliance. While no fool-proof method exists that offers guaranteed protection against every cyber threat that comes down the pike, organizations must have the expertise and the proper tools to defend themselves against threats to their IT security. Otherwise, hackers can easily launch a potentially devastating cyber attack on organizations that fail to fully protect themselves in today’s digital age. It is indeed a sad state of affairs that everyone needs to be extremely vigilant of cybercrime. But those who realize that it’s not if but when they will become a victim of a cyber attack will be way ahead of the game.