The cybersecurity skills shortage not only continues to give C-level executives a migraine, but the gap can also be linked to many breaches, Fortinet’s recent report found. 

For the report, Fortinet surveyed more than 1,200 IT and cybersecurity leaders from 29 different locations. The company found that 80% of surveyed organizations experienced at least one breach they could attribute to the cybersecurity skill gap, and 64% of those breaches resulted in revenue loss, recovery cost, and other financial damages.

“A key factor is that organizations struggle to find and retain certified cybersecurity people,” the report noted.

In fact, 60% of respondents stated they struggled to recruit cybersecurity talent, and 67% agreed that the shortage of qualified candidates creates additional risks. 

“The skills gap isn’t just a talent shortage challenge, but it’s also severely impacting business, making it a top concern for executive leaders worldwide,” Sandra Wheatley, SVP Marketing at Fortinet, said in a statement. That’s why the security vendor “has pledged to train 1 million professionals to increase cyber skills and awareness and make a dent in the skills gap by 2026.”

The report also confirmed that training and certification programs are part of the solutions needed to close the gap.

Ninety-five percent of surveyed leaders say they prefer to hire candidates with certifications, and 95% of them find technology-focused certifications have a positive impact on the roles and their team. 

“One major reason for certifications being highly regarded is due to their validation of increased cybersecurity knowledge and awareness,” Fortinet researchers noted  While 87% of respondents have implemented a training program for cybersecurity awareness, 52% of them still believe their employees lack the necessary knowledge. Fortinet says this statistic raises questions around how effective the training programs are.

Another challenge for closing the skills gap is focused around recruiting diverse talent.

Sammy Migues, principal scientist at Synopsys, previously told SDxCentral that cybersecurity companies should embrace candidates who haven’t followed traditional and specific paths through education and certification, but still are equipped with soft skills that are mandatory for many cybersecurity jobs — up to and including the CISO level. He explained that soft skills “are way better indicators of future success for many cybersecurity jobs than whether the candidate has memorized command line sequences in five flavors of Unix.”

Fortinet's report shows 70% of respondents said hiring women and new graduates was their top recruitment hurdle, while 61% of them found hiring minorities challenging. 

To address this issue, 89% of surveyed companies set explicit diversity goals as part of their hiring strategy. Plus, 75% of organizations have formal structures specifically to bolster hiring women, and 59% have strategies in place to hire candidates from the minority community.