Top In-Demand Cybersecurity Skills for 2022
Essential Cybersecurity Competencies in High Demand throughout 2023
In the rapidly evolving digital landscape of 2022, cybersecurity expertise has become more crucial than ever. As the world continues to digitalize, the demand for cybersecurity professionals with a combination of technical and soft skills has soared.
Technical Skills
- Cloud Security: With the rapid adoption of cloud technologies, the ability to secure cloud environments such as AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud became highly sought after. As remote work expanded, securing data across these platforms became paramount.
- Threat Intelligence and Incident Response: The ability to detect, analyze, and respond to cyber threats in real-time was critical, especially with the rise in sophisticated attacks like ransomware.
- Identity and Access Management (IAM): Managing user identities and controlling access to systems remained a priority as remote work expanded.
- Penetration Testing and Ethical Hacking: Skills in identifying vulnerabilities before attackers could exploit them were in high demand.
- Network Security: Traditional skills in protecting network infrastructure remained essential, especially with the expansion of remote and hybrid work environments.
Soft Skills and Business Acumen
- Risk Management: Understanding how to assess and mitigate cybersecurity risks in alignment with business objectives became increasingly valued.
- Communication: The ability to explain technical issues to non-technical stakeholders became crucial as cybersecurity became a boardroom topic.
- Compliance and Regulatory Knowledge: Familiarity with frameworks like GDPR, HIPAA, and NIST was important as regulatory scrutiny increased.
Emerging Areas
- AI and Machine Learning for Security: While not as dominant as in 2023–2025, early adoption of AI-driven security analytics and automation began to gain traction.
- IoT Security: As the Internet of Things expanded, securing connected devices became a growing concern.
These trends reflect the broader industry dynamics and the skills most frequently cited as critical during 2022. While a direct Forbes analysis for 2022 may not be available, industry reports and general cybersecurity analysis provide a clear picture of the skills landscape during that period.
Context and Trends
During 2022, the cybersecurity workforce gap widened, with 70% of organizations reporting understaffing, which amplified the demand for both foundational and advanced skills. The rapid shift to remote work and cloud services, accelerated by the pandemic, made cloud security and IAM especially critical. Incident response skills were also in high demand due to the surge in cyberattacks, including ransomware.
Summary Table
| Skill Area | Why In Demand (2022) | |-----------------------------|-------------------------------------------| | Cloud Security | Rapid cloud adoption, remote work | | Incident Response | Surge in cyberattacks, ransomware | | IAM | Expansion of remote access | | Penetration Testing | Proactive vulnerability management | | Network Security | Hybrid work environments | | Risk Management | Business alignment, regulatory pressure | | Compliance Knowledge | Increasing regulations (GDPR, NIST, etc.) | | Communication | Bridging technical and business teams | | AI/ML for Security | Early automation and analytics adoption | | IoT Security | Growth of connected devices |
These trends reflect the broader industry dynamics and the skills most frequently cited as critical during 2022, even though a direct Forbes analysis is not available in the provided results. The demand for cybersecurity professionals who possess both technical and soft skills is high due to the growing need for cybersecurity specialists. Organizations should prioritize hiring individuals who can monitor and identify fake pages set up to harvest credentials, understand identity management and authentication in SaaS application security, and possess threat intelligence analysis skills.
References: [1] Varonis (2022). State of Data Security: 2022 Report
- The encyclopedia of cybersecurity skills for 2022 highlights the importance of understanding identity management and authentication in securing SaaS application security.
- In the rapidly digitalizing world of 2022, threat intelligence analysis became a vital skill for cybersecurity professionals, helping them detect and respond to real-time cyber threats.
- As cloud technologies continue to dominate the landscape, becoming adept at cloud security, such as securing environments like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud, has become a crucial component of a cybersecurity professional's skillset.
- Cybersecurity education and self-development should encompass understanding compliance and regulatory knowledge, including frameworks like GDPR, HIPAA, and NIST, given the increasing regulatory scrutiny in 2022.
- To close the widening cybersecurity workforce gap in 2022, organizations need professionals with a blend of technical skills, like penetration testing and network security, and soft skills, such as risk management, communication, and proactive vulnerability management through penetration testing.
