The Cybersecurity and Privacy Workforce in Higher Education, 2023

Published:: Thursday, November 9, 2023
: Briefs, Case Studies, Papers, Reports

Author(s) and Contributors:: Author(s): Nicole Muscanell

Source(s) and Collection(s):: Sources(s): EDUCAUSE Research Collection(s): Research Report

ParentTopics:: Artificial Intelligence (AI) Budgets Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) Compliance Cybersecurity Organizational Culture IT Effectiveness IT Funding and Spending IT Organization IT Workforce Development Leadership and Management Leadership Development Organizational Structure Privacy Professional Development Security Management Working Remotely

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Following the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of workforce domains in higher education saw significant shifts in focus, reductions in staff size, and structural reorganizations. Now, several years out from the onset of the pandemic, we are taking a look at the current state of affairs, gauging whether the higher education workforce has continued to shift, shrink, or reorganize, in addition to exploring other timely and relevant workforce issues.

The data in this report are taken from a survey of cybersecurity and privacy professionals in higher education, conducted in July 2023, representing 350 respondents from different position levels at their institution.

This report is the first in a series examining specific workforce domains (cybersecurity and privacy, teaching and learning, and IT) in higher education. Explore our other Workforce Reports when they become available in early 2024.

Respondent Composition

Bar chart showing percentages of respondents who selected one of several descriptions for the focus of their responsibilities: cybersecurity and privacy (37%), cybersecurity and another area (31%), primarily cybersecurity (21%), privacy and another area (6%), and primarily privacy (5%).

Responsibilities often fall across multiple functional areas. Some of the areas that respondents identified included IT services and infrastructure, compliance, network infrastructure, enterprise services, system and data management, identity and access management, and administration.

Structure, Size, and Reporting Lines

Two doughnut charts showing whether positions have been created and eliminated. Created: none (49%), cybersecurity positions (29%), privacy positions (3%), cybersecurity and privacy positions (11%), don’t know (8%). Eliminated: none (86%), cybersecurity positions (3%), privacy positions (0.3%), cybersecurity and privacy positions (1%), don’t know (10%).

The cybersecurity workforce is more robust than the privacy workforce.

Learn more about structure, size, and reporting lines >

Staffing and Budgets

Bar chart showing what could be done to address staffing issues. Offer more competitive salaries (85%), Increase departmental budgets (68%), Provide opportunities for upskilling and reskilling (43%), Offer remote/hybrid work options (37%), Provide more flexibility (work location, hours, roles, duties) (31%), Improve communication and decision-making processes (31%), Offer more realistic and fair workloads (29%), Increase project budgets (29%), Improve institutional culture and values (29%), Offer more competitive benefits (23%), Recruit from more diverse applicant pools (14%), Other (10%), None of the above (1%).

Respondents called for improvements to salaries, budgets, and development opportunities.

Work Role Experiences

Bar chart showing increase in demand for various job functions. Compliance and regulations (55%), Monitoring and detection (47%), Incident response and threat hunting (40%), Cloud security (22%), Education and training (21%), Cyber defense operations (21%), Leadership and management of staff and operations (20%), Privacy operations (13%), Privacy programs (12%), Other (9%), Threat intel and forensics (7%), Offensive operations (4%), Industrial control systems (2%), and Specialized offensive operations (1%).

Compliance and regulations have seen the largest increase in time demands.

Learn more about work role experiences >

Competencies and Professional Development

Chart showing the top three current competencies for the four position levels. C-level: Building relationships, communicating, networking with key stakeholders (54%), Analytical and problem-solving skills (42%), Program and strategy development (40%). Directors: Analytical and problem-solving skills (58%), Building relationships, communicating, networking with key stakeholders (45%), Technical knowledge and skills (41%). Managers: Analytical and problem-solving skills (58%), Building relationships, communicating, networking with key stakeholders (43%), Continuous learning and adaptability (40%). Staff: Analytical and problem-solving skills (63%), Continuous learning and adaptability (56%), Technical knowledge and skills (46%).

Proficiency in particular competencies was somewhat similar among different position levels.

Learn more about competencies and professional development >

More Workforce Resources

This report is the first in a series examining specific workforce domains (cybersecurity and privacy, teaching and learning, and IT leadership) in higher education.

Explore other technology workforce reports (coming early 2024) >

Reports and Supporting Materials

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