Dark Reading Radio: A Cybersecurity Generation Gap

You've heard it over and over:  the embarrassment of riches in cybersecurity job openings that sit unfilled due to a lack of skilled talent for those gigs. Meanwhile, the number of women in the cybersecurity field remains static at an anemic 10% worldwide over the past two years. And don't count on millennials to infuse fresh talent or diversity into the cybersecurity industry: a recent survey by Raytheon and the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) found that 18- to 26-year-olds worldwide just aren't pursuing careers in the field.

Young millennial women are less interested and informed about the field than millennial men, according to the report: 52% of millennial women say cybersecurity programs and activities aren't available to them in school, while 39% of millennial men said the same. Only about half of millennial men are aware of what cybersecurity jobs entail, while just 33% of women are, the survey found.

Why aren't young people drawn to this hot industry? The Raytheon-NCSA survey indicates they just aren't getting the proper information in school. But another big hurdle is a lack of entry-level cybersecurity jobs, which limits young graduates' opportunities in the industry.

Join me on the next episode of Dark Reading Radio, "Millennials & The Cybersecurity Skills Shortage," this Wednesday, November 18 at 1pm ET/10am PT, as we explore this conundrum with the experts:  Valecia Maclin, Raytheon's program director for the Department of Homeland Security's network security deployment division, and millennials Jennifer Imhoff-Dousharm, co-founder of the dc408 and Vegas 2.0 hacker groups, and Ryan Sepe, information security analyst at Radian Group Inc.

Register for the radio broadcast (it's free) and live chat here.