In recent years, the threat of cyber-attacks and hacking has become a critical reality for most organisations and businesses, with the Department of Digital, Culture, Media & Sport reporting that 43% on UK businesses experienced a cyber security breach in 2017.

In January of this year, Ciaran Martin, head of the National Cyber Security Centre predicted that the UK would face much greater cyber threats in the coming year.

According to Joblift, 3,240 ethical hacker job vacancies have been posted in the UK in the last 24 months, with these positions increasing by 4% on average each month. With several high-profile hacks and this increased awareness of cyber threats, it makes sense that demand for ethical hackers is increasing.

In comparison, during the same time frame around 3,297 Google searches for ethical hacker jobs were recorded in the UK, with this demand increasing by 12% monthly on average.

These statistics suggest that while the ethical hacker job market is increasing at a rate in line with the average for the UK’s whole job market (4% monthly), the demand for jobs is currently outweighing supply.

GDPR is Mentioned in Only 1% of Ethical Hacker Job Vacancies

Candidates holding official accreditation (CREST/CHECK/CCT/APP/INF) were requested in seven out of every ten ethical hacker job advertisements, making this the most in-demand requirement. The second most requested quality is knowledge of programming languages, mentioned in a quarter of all ethical job descriptions, closely followed by candidates who have already been security checked (21%).

A university degree was requested in only 15% of the 3,240 ethical job advertisements. Perhaps most surprising, only 1% of the job advertisements mentioned the recent General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Flexibility and an Innovative Mindset are the Most Desired Soft Skills

Joblift also analysed the most commonly requested soft skills in ethical hacker job descriptions to determine the main qualities employers look for. Based on the 3,240 job vacancies that were advertised in the last 24 months, the most desired soft skills in ethical hacker candidates are:

• Flexibility: mentioned in 21% of job advertisements
• Innovation: mentioned in 12% of job advertisements
• Passion: mentioned in 11% of job advertisements
• Confidence: mentioned in 8% of job advertisements
• Communication skills: mentioned in 6% of job advertisements

This increase in vacancies and demand comes as no surprise as ethical hacker powered security programmes are being rapidly adopted globally. With the increase in attacks and vulnerabilities being flagged and a strong demand in the job market ethical hacker salaries have also increased exponentially. With big companies like Google, Microsoft and Intel offering massive bounty awards for identifying critical issues other companies are following their lead in adopting this approach.