Public sector struggles to retain cybersecurity specialists

Recent cyberattacks have highlighted the public sector’s continuing difficulty in attracting and retaining highly qualified information technology security specialists, LSM reported.

The attacks against the Road Traffic Safety Directorate and Latvijas Valsts meži, a state forestry organisation, show that government systems contain enough vulnerabilities to require highly skilled cybersecurity professionals, said Eva Selga, chairwoman of the board of the Latvian Association of Personnel Management.

Selga said such specialists could be recruited only by offering competitive pay in both the public and private sectors. Drawing on her experience supplying security professionals for a bank, she said they were paid according to their demands rather than a fixed salary scale because of the importance of their work.

“If customer data about their finances and other transactions leaked from a bank, it would be a huge scandal,” Selga said.

Pay is not the only factor in attracting cybersecurity professionals, she added. Employers must also offer suitable technical opportunities and training. Information technology courses are among the most expensive, requiring significant investment from companies and public institutions.

Education opportunities at technical schools and universities are sufficient, according to the report. However, people working in information technology, particularly cybersecurity, need to continually improve their knowledge and skills through specialised courses, independent projects and research, said a cybersecurity specialist from CERT.LV, an institution for preventing cyber incidents.