The security skills gap – it’s an ugly topic that comes up time and again. Without a doubt this is one of the biggest concerns on a lot of people’s minds in the industry. There is a massive amount of security threats and there is a significant chasm of experienced talent to be had for all these needs. Today, HP has announced their contribution to help further the cause of creating more skilled workers around the world with a $250,000 grant to the Scholarship for Women Studying Information Security (SWSIS) program. The partnerships with a number of institutions worldwide are expected to boost the talent pool of security practitioners by providing much needed education and training in the field of IT security.

The IT security jobs market will be 40 percent vacant in 2014, according to a new IT Security Jobs Study conducted by the Ponemon Institute and sponsored by HP Enterprise Security Products.(1) This gap in the talent pool is expected to grow, compounding today’s reality that the adversary is innovating faster than the market can keep pace.

This new scholarship effort is part of HP’s larger academic initiative to enhance IT security education and training, and contributes to the company’s goal to address the industry’s urgent need for highly skilled security professionals. HP also will develop security-centric course content and extend product accessibility—spanning HP ArcSight, HP TippingPoint, HP Fortify and HP Atalla technology—to university classrooms.
Adversaries are quickly evolving, motivated by financial gain and the ability to maliciously attack competitors and targets alike. Various stories and anecdotes have shown the seriousness of the problems industry, and one such study, the IT Security Jobs Study by the Ponemon Institute indicates that the talent pool gap is expected to grow “compounding today’s reality that the adversary is innovating faster than the market can keep pace.”  As of now, over sixty accredited universities have signed up for the program. They include the University of California Berkeley, the University of Michigan and the University of North Carolina Charlotte.

“The security industry has a pressing need for skilled security talent that can function fluidly in today’s environment,” said Art Gilliland, senior vice president and general manager, Enterprise Security Products, HP. “With the new scholarship program for women in information security, as well as the expansion of HP’s academic program, HP will support security career growth and introduce new talent to the field.”

The SWSIS scholarship program will be a joint effort between HP, the ACSA and the Computer Research Association’s Committee on the Status of Women in Computing Research (CRA-W).

• HP funds will be allocated to the ACSA over a four-year period.
• While there is no preset scholarship amount, students will be eligible for scholarships in the amount of $5,000-10,000 per individual each year, and can be awarded up to $20,000 total over a two year period.
• For each individual, the scholarship is effective for two years, but the student must reapply after the first year to confirm continued interest in the security domain.
• Scholarship winners will have the option to intern at HP, although it is not a mandatory requirement.
• To apply, candidates will need to provide a statement of interest in the field of information security, a transcript and a statement of their current educational status.
• CRA-W will review applications and recommend one or more outstanding candidates to the ACSA to receive scholarship funding.
• Applications will be accepted during the spring, and scholarships will be awarded for the fall term of the following academic year.

By sponsoring this program, HP is stepping up as a leader in the industry through building a significant foundation that will help fill critical security roles within the enterprise. Of the many things we hear in the security industry, one of the biggest is the demand for training, a demand for information. These were echoed in the Ponemon Institute findings, as well as a lack of a clear professional track, the importance of degree programs, insufficient hiring packages and very interestingly a statistic that says women on average make up only 20 percent of the information security workforce. A program such as this could make a rapid turnaround at one of the most critical pain points.

It will be interesting to watch the developments of this program and the arrival of talent to the information security scene.

photo credit: SalFalko via photopin cc