It’s easy to assume that cybersecurity skill gap issues are an SMB problem. Large businesses have more money to spend on skilled professionals and typically attract more applicants. Yet, there is a large business cybersecurity talent shortage. This shortage is the result of both there being a general cybersecurity skill shortage and fewer trained professionals who can handle large business needs.
| “Even with a wealth of resources at your disposal, finding large business cybersecurity skills is a challenging task. It’s never easy to search for a limited skill set in a competitive market.” – Joel K. Sosebee, Director of Sales at AT-NET |
However, there is still a lot that you can do to address this gap. Understanding why the gap exists can help you formulate your next IT strategy in a way that will help you lessen it at your organization. Internal upskilling and outsourcing both play key roles.
To help you get started, the rest of this article will focus on the large business cybersecurity workforce gap. We will explore why it exists, where it is most prevalent, and showcase key best practices to help your team enhance their skills.
Why Large Business Cybersecurity Knowledge Is In Short Supply
Businesses, large and small, are experiencing an average 28% vacancy rate for cybersecurity positions. There are several reasons why, and all of them affect businesses of every size.
Firstly, the cybersecurity skills shortage is a symptom of a wider tech talent shortage. CloudSecureTech notes that a general tech talent shortage impacts 87% of companies. The main reason for the overall tech skill shortage is that technology is evolving faster than the workforce can upskill.
Furthermore, cybersecurity roles demand many of the same skills as other technical roles, such as cloud architecture, scripting, system administration, and data analytics. As a result, organizations must compete with other technology sectors for a limited number of qualified candidates. This overlap has left cybersecurity positions among the hardest to fill.
Economic factors have also constrained the talent supply. Budget limitations and hiring freezes caused by recent economic pressures have curbed the growth of security teams even at large firms. In one survey, 39% of cybersecurity professionals said a lack of budget was causing staff shortages, surpassing even the lack of available talent as a reported reason for unfilled positions.
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Where Do The Biggest Large Business Cybersecurity Skill Gaps Exist?
AI & Machine Learning
As more organizations integrate AI tools into daily operations, few professionals possess expertise in both AI systems and cybersecurity. This shortage limits every organization’s ability to protect against AI-driven threats and prevent AI models’ manipulation and misuse.
Cloud Security
Cloud security continues to be one of the hardest areas to staff, even as cloud adoption becomes universal. Large businesses often lack professionals capable of building and managing secure multi-cloud or hybrid environments. Without dedicated specialists, monitoring these systems for vulnerabilities becomes difficult.
Zero Trust Implementation
Many large organizations struggle to find experts who can move them away from traditional perimeter-based defenses and toward modern, “never trust, always verify” models. This shortage slows adoption and increases reliance on outdated security frameworks.
Incident Response
There are too few experienced professionals who can investigate security incidents, trace attack paths, and contain damage effectively. The lack of these experts leaves many enterprises unable to respond quickly to advanced attacks or gather the insights needed to prevent future events.
Application Security & Penetration Testing
Demand for application security engineers and ethical hackers continues to exceed supply. These professionals play a vital role in identifying weaknesses during software development and preventing exploitation before deployment.
Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC)
Roles that combine technical expertise with compliance knowledge are difficult to fill. Industries like finance, healthcare, and government particularly struggle to hire GRC professionals who can interpret complex standards and align security controls with compliance frameworks.
Operational Technology (OT) Security
Industries that rely on industrial control systems, such as utilities and manufacturing, face some of the largest skill shortages. OT environments require specialized expertise distinct from traditional IT security, yet qualified professionals are limited. This gap increases the risk of disruption in critical infrastructure systems.
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Is It a Skill Gap Issue or Is The Large Business Cybersecurity Workforce Too Competitive?
Both factors are driving the problem. There are too few professionals with advanced cybersecurity expertise, and those who exist are pursued by multiple employers, including major corporations, government agencies, and tech firms. This competition raises salaries, fuels turnover, and makes hiring senior specialists costly and difficult.
Demanding hiring practices also contribute to the problem. Many organizations follow what is often referred to as “purple unicorn” hiring practices, which means they seek a combination of skills and experience that very few real candidates possess.
As a result, the same limited number of professionals are recycled across organizations, and there is little room for new professionals to expand their skills, and therefore, increase the talent pool.
These factors, combined with financial constraints, mean that relying on the open market to find expertise is no longer practical. Building internal talent and investing in large business cybersecurity workforce development offer a more sustainable path forward.
The following section showcases some key best practices you can follow to build your talent pool.
Best Practices to Help You Avoid Large Business Cybersecurity Workforce Gaps
Invest in Upskilling
It is far more effective (and often faster) to train existing employees in needed skills than to hire outside for every niche role. Nearly two-thirds of organizations report that hiring a new cybersecurity employee can take as long or longer than upskilling a current one.
So, encourage and fund ongoing training for your IT and security staff. Target the skills your organization needs most and support employees in attaining those competencies.
Establish Clear Career Paths & Mentorship
One reason security talent hops between employers is the pursuit of better opportunities and growth. To retain your trained personnel, define clear career progression pathways for cybersecurity roles within your organization. Map out how a junior analyst can advance to senior analyst, engineer, architect, manager, etc., and communicate those opportunities.
If you want some tips, the following table showcases what to build at each level, how to support it, and why it reduces turnover.
| Career Stage | Primary Development Goals | Mentorship Objective | Retention Outcome |
| Entry-Level (e.g., Junior Analyst) | Build technical foundations in monitoring, incident response, and documentation | Pair with a senior analyst to gain hands-on investigative experience | Early engagement through skill growth and clear direction |
| Mid-Level (e.g., Senior Analyst / Engineer) | Strengthen specialization in automation, cloud, or compliance | Mentor junior staff while receiving coaching on leadership and project ownership | Increased loyalty through professional recognition |
| Advanced (e.g., Architect / Manager) | Broaden scope to risk management, policy design, and strategic security planning | Guide teams, shape standards, and influence business alignment | Retention through meaningful leadership roles |
| Executive (e.g., Director / CISO) | Focus on governance, executive communication, and long-term strategy | Serve as organization-wide mentor and talent advocate | Retention through purpose-driven leadership and legacy building |
Adopt Skills-Based Hiring Practices
Rethink strict job requirements that may unnecessarily exclude capable candidates. Focus hiring based on core competencies and aptitudes rather than a laundry list of specific experiences. By adopting skills-based hiring, you can locate high-value candidates with less competition from other organizations.
Provide Hands-On, Scenario-Based Training
Classrooms and certifications are valuable, but nothing beats practical experience. Use cyber range exercises, simulated attack scenarios, and red team/blue team drills to give your staff real-world practice in defending against threats.
For instance, run regular incident response tabletop exercises and cloud breach simulations. This not only sharpens technical skills but also builds teamwork under pressure.
Leverage External Resources
Building a skilled internal cybersecurity team is beneficial, but you can also count on managed cybersecurity providers for assistance. The right partner costs less than the overhead of a new hire and comes equipped with a team of professionals with a breadth of expertise. You can use one to fill unfilled roles quickly on either a temporary or permanent basis.
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Reach Out to a Team of Large Business Cybersecurity Practitioners Today
If you’ve decided that you need to supplement your cybersecurity workforce with an external provider, consider AT-NET Services. We have the skills to manage large business and enterprise-level cybersecurity needs, and we are a CMMC RPO.
Expand your team’s skill set while tapping into a team with over 25 years of experience. Reach out to AT-NET today.
