An additional 85,000 cyber professionals will need to be found by 2030 – a 60 per cent increase on current figures – to meet Australian industry demand, according to a new study by Australia’s peak cyber industry body.

Within these six years, it is projected that an additional 33,600 dedicated cyber roles – or more than 4,800 each year – will be needed to meet wider industry demand, according to figures cited in the AustCyber report, which aggregates data from multiple cyber sector studies.

Australia, as of 2022, counts more than 125,000 cyber professionals. Of these, more than 51,000 individuals have dedicated cyber roles – nearly double that of the 26,500 cyber professionals recorded in 2020.

One in five of the total – or 24,000 roles – were identified as core cybersecurity roles requiring technical expertise.

Currently, the cyber sector reports a shortfall of 12,500 unfilled jobs, echoing similar labour shortage rates worldwide.

According to an (ISC)2 survey, cited by AustCyber, this global labour shortage continues to grow, with the gap now twice as strong as the workforce.

The Australian Government’s 2023 Skills Priority List, cited by AustCyber, shows cybersecurity roles among the highest-ranked skills with a national shortage. The List, in particular, reveals a notable shortage of cyber risk and compliance specialists, cyber security analysts, cyber architects and cyber engineers.

According to AustCyber, cybersecurity architects are the most in-demand cybersecurity role, followed by engineers and analysts.

In addition, with the exception of cyber security engineers, all are identified as having an increased future demand.

AustCyber noted in its 2023 Australian Cyber Security Sector Survey the cyber industry’s call for improved education and training pathways, with 74.3 per cent of respondents recognising a significant skills gap.

Respondents, in particular, flagged a shortfall of skilled professionals in several key disciplines: data security and privacy (53.9 per cent); cloud and software security (47.7 per cent); governance, risk and compliance (43.1 per cent); and threat intelligence and security operations (40.0 per cent).

Further, Australia’s competitiveness in the cyber sector was found to be lacking. Fewer than one in 10 respondents (8.8 per cent) rated the Australian cyber sector’s global competitiveness as ‘highly competitive’. More than one in five, or 20.9 per cent, rated it as ‘not competitive’.

“The challenge for the Australian cyber security sector is more than a skills gap. It is a challenge relating to the rapidly evolving technology landscape,” AusCyber wrote in its report.

“At its core, the rapid evolution of cyber threats demands a workforce that is not only technically proficient, but also continuously updated with the latest in cyber threat intelligence and mitigation techniques.

“However, there is a rising need for professionals across many other disciplines to understand cyber security concepts and principles as the industry grows. These include law, risk management, criminal justice, human resources and policy development.”