WannaCry Ransomware Cyber-attack Highlights IT Skills Gap Threats and Opportunities:

If you’ve been paying attention to recent news, you’re aware of the WannaCry ransomware cyber-attack and the impact it continues to have globally. Now, with the threat of more attacks on the horizon, institutions are turning their focus to two main questions: how did the cyber-attack happen, and what can be done to prevent future attacks?

Many factors played a hand in the ultimate spread of the ransomware cyber-attack, including the alleged failure of the NSA to disclose software security flaws in advance and creating EternalBlue, the vessel used to carry out the attack. Blame is also placed on institutions that did not update their operating systems accordingly, and the nature of ransomware attacks themselves, which tend to infect computers via phishing emails, then encrypt the computers data and demand a ransom for access.

The risk of attack was significantly higher for operating systems no longer supported by Microsoft, including Windows XP and Windows Server 2003.

With an unprecedented impact of nearly 150 countries, the attack points to the importance of companies taking proactive measures against cyber-attacks, and that means better qualified IT professionals are needed.

Hiring skilled employees, though, seems to be an issue. A 2015 research study conducted by Teksystems found that 70% of IT leaders viewed a lack of skills to be the biggest problem when seeking out quality candidates. They also discovered that 63% of IT professionals believed that a lack of experience and education led to challenges when seeking positions.

This demonstrates the need for training institutions to close the skills gap with education, certification, and hands-on learning to prepare IT professionals to enter a workforce that needs them now more than ever as cyber warfare becomes a reality.

Job opportunities in the IT field are currently expected to increase by 22% through 2020. “Once IT was purely for competitive advantage reasons," says Dr. Jason Crittenden, Department Chair of Information Systems and Technology at South University, Richmond. “But IT is a now a necessity. There is no business without IT or IS anymore.”

Click here for more information on getting involved in IT.