Winston Ritson, ritson.io.

When the topic of cybersecurity is raised, it’s usually in reference to South African businesses and their preparedness, or lack thereof, in navigating the country’s cyber threat landscape. A recent report by Seacom, for example, shows that the country has seen a 22% increase in attacks in the last year, with SMEs firmly in the crosshairs.

However, many cybersecurity experts agree that there is a critical shortage of cybersecurity skills in the country’s workforce. Jason Jordaan, principal instructor at cybersecurity training and certification specialist SANS Institute, says this is due to the lack of quality STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) education, which doesn’t encourage pupils to consider cybersecurity as a prospective career path. He also cites the lack of basic cybersecurity awareness taught at schools – where the majority of both primary and high school pupils own and use smartphones on a daily basis – as highly problematic.