Talent shortages continue to plague the cybersecurity industry. Cyberseek.org reports that only 69% of cybersecurity jobs in the United States are staffed.
Without the right talent, companies are at risk from attacks by threat actors. By 2025, Gartner predicts that talent shortages or human lapses will be at the root of over half of significant cyber incidents.
Here’s a rundown of some of today’s biggest talent challenges faced by organizations:
The impacts of the global cybersecurity skills shortage on businesses. (Source: “The Life and Times of Cybersecurity Professionals” by ISSA and Enterprise Strategy Group by TechTarget, 2023.)
Challenges with recruiting and retaining security talent
Email remains the go-to threat vector for many threat actors who target it to launch phishing scams, distribute malware, pursue business email compromise (BEC) campaigns, and more. BEC is an especially significant threat. In the 2023 State of the Phish report Proofpoint research showed that 75% percent of businesses experienced at least one BEC attack last year.
Many businesses want to hire experienced email security professionals with extensive domain knowledge to help defend against BEC and other email-based threats. However, these professionals are hard to find in the hiring market.
Email security professionals also need analytical and problem-solving skills. They need to translate identified threats and assessments into practical steps for remediation. In other words, the nature of the role is multidimensional, as it combines skill sets from email security and threat intelligence.
Proofpoint Managed Email Threat Protection elevates email security
As the threat landscape is dynamic, your organization’s email management and incident response need to be a continuous process. Without an adequate supply of talent, how can businesses keep their email secure?
Proofpoint Managed Email Threat Protection can help. As a co-managed service delivered by our email security and threat protection experts, it can help you fill gaps in your cybersecurity team.
Here’s what our expert team can offer:
They can provide expertise in email security and threat protection
Our experts deftly deploy and manage Proofpoint email security and threat protection products. They use a proactive approach to optimize your email system settings, rules and policies and update the latest threat intelligence. And they help to protect your business against emerging attack vectors and threat actors.
“If I did not have [Proofpoint] Managed Services … I had said to my boss I would have to hire three skilled people, not entry-level people coming out of college.”
— Information Security Director of a U.S. healthcare system and medical school with 20,000 users
They can co-manage your daily email operations and provide staff continuity
Attracting and retaining cyber talent are high priorities for security executives. But CISOs are expected to do more with less in these cautionary economic conditions.
Amid these resource constraints, experts with Proofpoint can provide guidance and co-management of a company’s daily email operations. Their support helps to foster operational stability. It reduces staffing needs and enhances cost-efficiency.
“Massive value for dollars spent. We could only do one-third of the basic tasks you do, and we could not even conceptualize the strategic approach you take.”
– CISO of a global equipment manufacturer with 35,000 users
They can give valuable insights to your executives
Our experts address email security gaps discovered during health checks. They provide configuration efficacy analysis, regular checkpoints and reports. This information adds transparency to your email security. It also empowers you and your leadership to monitor mitigations and gauge progress.
“Proofpoint reports contain a lot of very useful information that helps us improve our operating performance. They give our nontechnical stakeholders a way to understand the issues. And they give us a much higher level of confidence when we are making decisions.”
– Security Professional at a major cancer and research center with 35,000 users
Managed email security is a cornerstone in defending email communication and data in the modern threat landscape. With our managed service, people, technology and process come together in one offering to help elevate email security and mitigate the risks of email as the No. 1 attack vector.
Find out more
Advanced email and threat protection tools are essential for keeping up with attackers and their evolving tactics. It is just as important to have support from a team of experienced professionals who can tap into the latest threat intelligence and product features.
Proofpoint sees the world’s email threats as they are happening. With Proofpoint Managed Email Threat Protection, you will have access to a team of professionals who can strengthen your defenses and help you make the most of your investment in Proofpoint products for email security.
This support from our experts can also help to ease your staffing challenges—and it will allow your core team to focus on more important work for the business. Plus, you’ll gain advice and executive insights that can prove valuable to your stakeholders.
Download the Managed Email Threat Protection data sheet for more details on how our team of experts can help protect you your business from advanced email attacks.