Tech skills are essential to combatting a rise in cybersecurity threats, but organisations worldwide are falling behind.

Within the next two years, over 90% of organisations worldwide will experience an IT skills crisis, according to IDC research.

A growing IT skills shortage means organisations worldwide may face product delays, impaired competitiveness and $5.5 trillion (£4.18 trillion) in losses. Within cybersecurity teams, staffing shortages are up by 26% compared to 2023, putting companies at risk of a further £1.34 trillion in data breach costs, according to an IBM report.

Gartner consultancy forecasts that the requirement of specialised training should be removed from 50% of entry-level cybersecurity roles within the next four years, hoping to alleviate the crisis. Generative AI tools are also anticipated to assist leaders in more targeted recruiting.

According to IBM, two out of three organisations have implemented AI security solutions and tools over the past year, with those using AI tools incurring an average of £1.67 million less in breach costs. Employee training was another factor in mitigating costs.