EU can’t attract and retain cyber talent: why?

Both public and private organizations in critical sectors across the European Union are finding it difficult to attract and retain cybersecurity professionals, ENISA (the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity) says.

According to a survey by the EU's cybersecurity agency, candidates lack the necessary skills, and employers lack proper training programs. That’s why “the cyber talent crunch shows no signs of easing,” ENISA admits.

Cyber experts who leave European companies cite excessive workloads, burnout, and the lack of competitive salaries and bonuses. All this also scares potential hires as well.

High turnover rates at most surveyed companies have been registered, raising their exposure risk and preventing more investments in cybersecurity.

"Difficulties in attracting (76%) and retaining (71%) cybersecurity professionals persist, intensified by a shortage of skilled professionals and fierce competition for limited talent," ENISA said in the report.

“Understaffed or overstretched cybersecurity teams are considered a contributing factor to elevated operational risk, with 81% of companies surveyed viewing hiring difficultiesas as a key factor raising their exposure to cyberattacks.”

And there are no ambitious plans of expansion. The survey found that most organizations expect to maintain their current headcount, a quarter of them were planning upskilling of existing staff, and only 33% were anticipating hiring additional personnel.

Compliance, notoriously complex in the EU, is cited as the main driver behind 70% of all cybersecurity investments.

The main context here is probably the fact that Europe, under continuous tariff-shaped attacks from the US President Donald Trump’s administration, is close to stagnating and is still in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis.

In 2024, 30% of respondents in the EU reported difficulties making ends meet, a significant increase from 22% in 2023, Eurofound poll suggested. Unsurprisingly, companies across the continent have been tight with money lately.

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The ENISA study also looked at cybersecurity budgets of EU companies and said that organizations were spending €1.5 millions on average on these budgets this year, roughly 9% of their total IT allocations.

Compliance, notoriously complex in the EU, is cited as the main driver behind 70% of all cybersecurity investments.

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