AI-led cyber threats expose deep security talent crunch

India faces a severe shortage of cybersecurity engineers to protect critical infrastructure

- Shouvik Das

India just doesn’t have enough skilled engineers to consistently protect vital assets such as power grids, telecom networks, banks and government systems from cyber attackers, whose capabilities have grown more sophisticated with the use of artificial intelligence (AI).

Industry stakeholders and analysts that Mint spoke with said that India has about 350,000 professionals working in cybersecurity across various roles. In comparison, the demand across the country is for one million engineers, data sourced from staffing firms Adecco and Quess IT Staffing showed.

The gap has remained persistent, as demand for cybersecurity engineers is increasing: as of 2023, India had close to 300,000 engineers working on cybersecurity. While the pool of such professional has expanded gradually due to abundant opportunities and rising salaries, the pace of growth has not been sufficient to meet demand.