Sharing Their Pain For the past several years, executives in charge of keeping business networks safe and secure have been dealing with the widely noted disparity between the demand for cybersecurity expertise and the available pool of qualified professionals. This so-called “IT security skills gap,” in turn, has been a staffing priority for the majority of IT administrators. Given the breakneck pace of technological advancement, compounded by the ever-shifting and increasingly complex threat landscape, perhaps it’s not surprising that companies have found it difficult to keep security operations staffed with the skillsets needed to defend them from sophisticated attackers or AI-generated exploits. Perhaps it’s not even surprising when companies throw in the proverbial towel when it comes to internal staffing efforts. According to a new survey of mid-sized to small businesses by security provider Forta, the number of respondents – when asked about their cybersecurity staffing strategy – that said they were “improving the skills of [their] staff” actually dropped this year to 61 percent from 68 percent that said the same in 2024. When asked about their top five cybersecurity initiatives for the next six months, the percentage of respondents that cited “improving security skills” likewise dropped, from 58 percent in 2024 to 51 percent in this year’s survey. This shift in staffing strategy and priorities could very well stem from expectations that emerging AI-infused tools will help to alleviate some of the IT expertise burden. On the other hand, “We continue to see an increase in managed security services adoption,” said researchers from Forta. CYBER PATROL By Martin Vilaboy A fresh look at SMB security challenges and priorities 20 CHANNELVISION | MARCH - APRIL 2025
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