Cybersecurity is one of the most important issues in the digital age. Everyone, from households to businesses and governments, has a stake in protecting data - the greatest value of our time. The question is how to achieve this.
The magnitude of the problem cannot be underestimated. Cyberattack organizers are becoming more dexterous and inventive, with more and more diverse weapons in their arsenal, and therefore cyberattacks are more frequent and more cunning than ever before. The security department of my company, BT, the network operator and ISP, detects 100,000 instances of malware every day - more than once a second.
The creative thinking of cyber attackers requires creative thinking from those who fend off their attacks. And the first step in that is to ensure that enough talented and trained people are involved in this struggle. After all, 97% of organizations are concerned about the security qualifications of their employees, according to a recent survey by the International Data Corporation. By 2022, another study estimates there will be 1.8 million jobs in cybersecurity.
With such a critical shortage of security professionals, it is imperative that we develop new approaches to recruiting, training and retaining talented people in order to create a huge pool of highly skilled cyber experts ready to defeat cybercriminals in their own field.
The key to success is a variety of talents and perspectives, including neurodiversity. I'm talking, for example, about people with autism, Asperger's, and attention deficit disorder. For example, people with Asperger's or autism tend to think more literally and systematically, which makes them particularly strong in math and pattern recognition - which are critical to cybersecurity.
The problem is that neurologically exceptional people tend to be at a disadvantage in traditional interviewing, the outcome of which is highly dependent on good verbal communication skills. As a result, such people often struggle to find work, and even when they do, their work environment may not necessarily be able to provide them with satisfactory support.
According to the National Autistic Society of Great Britain, only 16% of autistic adults in the UK have a paid full-time job, and only 32% have any paid job at all. Compare this with 47% of employment among people with disabilities and 80% among people without disabilities. This indicates the scale of the problem faced by such candidates, as well as a huge untapped resource in their person.
Recognizing that the potential of neurodiversity can help strengthen cybersecurity, we at BT have changed the way we interact with candidates during interviews. We encourage them to talk about their interests, instead of simply asking them to answer standard questions about why they are taking this job or what their strengths and weaknesses are. This approach has already been used with great success by companies such as Microsoft, Amazon and SAP in the field of coding and software development, as well as the intelligence and security division of the UK Government Communications Center, which is one of the largest employers of autism in the country.
Promotional video:
Of course, a new approach to interviewing candidates won't work for everyone. But this is just the beginning. More broadly, we must not only promote the empowerment of neurologically exceptional candidates, but also actively promote these opportunities.
For these changes to take place, they need to be spearheaded - in cooperation with each other - government and business. I am pleased to announce that BT is already playing a leading role on this front, including partnering with the British government on Cyber Discovery, an initiative specifically aimed at bringing students to the cyber industry, and through its own internship programs.
In the digital age, neurodiversity should be seen as a competitive advantage, not an obstacle. We now have the opportunity to invest in talented people who are often left behind when hiring, and thereby benefit them, business and society at large. By recognizing and developing the potential of this generally overlooked source of talent, we can cope with the severe talent gap in our economies and learn how to better combat cybercrime. Such opportunities should not be missed.
Gavin Patterson