Gordon Pelosse is senior vice president, employer engagement at CompTIA. Unlocking the potential in millions of under and unemployed.

As technology continues to advance, cybersecurity has become a critical concern for organizations across all industries. Cybersecurity specialists are tasked with protecting an organization's digital assets from a myriad of threats. To do so effectively, they must have a deep understanding of the IT infrastructure and networking principles that underpin these assets. This includes knowledge of servers, storage systems, cloud services, network protocols and data transmission.

Due to the detailed requirements and the combination of education and hands-on experience needed, many HR leaders find recruiting for cybersecurity roles challenging. It's common for hiring managers to default to a formal degree requirement as a proxy for skill, but this can be misleading.

Understanding the different ways that cybersecurity specialists can obtain their foundational skills is paramount. This is especially important because professionals in related fields can transition into security roles through a number of pathways. So it's crucial to validate whether a candidate possesses the necessary skills, rather than making hiring decisions based on what their college major was.

If your organization is in need of cybersecurity professionals, here are five pathways you should take into account.

Pathway 1: Higher Education Alternative

Associate degrees offer a structured approach to learning that combines theoretical knowledge with practical experience. This pathway can be particularly appealing to those who value a traditional academic setting, and the comprehensive education it offers, but wish to avoid the time and financial commitment of a four-year degree. Cybersecurity candidates with associate degrees can often bring a disciplined approach to problem-solving and project management to the role.

Pathway 2: Vocational Training And Certifications

Pursuing a certificate in relevant tech skill sets, such as network design or troubleshooting, provides a direct route to a career in cybersecurity. Participants can learn things like network design, implementation and troubleshooting; security concepts and best practices; and threat analysis, risk management and incident response.

Certifications can be a reliable indicator of someone's commitment to professional development and their readiness to take on cybersecurity challenges. As most reputable programs are updated regularly to keep up with the ever-changing technology and evolving threats, a certified professional is more than likely well equipped to solve problems that arise.

You should also recognize the value of vendor-specific certifications, which provide expertise in the relevant technologies that an organization uses. For example, a candidate with a Cisco Certified CyberOps Associate certification would be able to handle security in a Cisco-based network environment.

Pathway 3: Self-Directed Learning And Experience

Being self-taught is a hallmark of many successful cybersecurity professionals. Individuals who have taken the initiative to learn about infrastructure and networking through online courses, tutorials and hands-on projects demonstrate a proactive approach to their professional growth. These candidates may not have formal degrees in cybersecurity, but their self-taught skills or on-the-job training and experience can be just as valuable.

Look for evidence of self-directed learning in a candidate's background, such as participation in online forums, attendance at industry webinars or completion of online courses related to infrastructure and networking. Then, when interviewing self-directed learners, you can include technical assessments that allow them to demonstrate their knowledge and experience. These assessments can range from theoretical questions about network protocols to practical exercises involving the configuration of firewalls or intrusion detection systems.

Pathway 4: Boot Camps And Short Courses

Accelerated learning environments are for individuals looking to develop their infrastructure and networking skills quickly. Cybersecurity boot camp programs are intensive and focused, often including hands-on labs and real-world simulations that prepare participants for the challenges they'll face on the job. Short courses can provide specialized training in areas like network security, ethical hacking or cloud security. They're often designed to supplement existing knowledge and can be an excellent way for professionals with infrastructure backgrounds to pivot into cybersecurity.

Graduates from these programs are valuable employees who arrive equipped with up-to-date knowledge and practical experience. As a hiring manager, of course, it's important to evaluate the quality and relevance of the accelerated program they attended, as well as the depth of the curriculum. This can ensure you're hiring someone who fits the needs of your organization's cybersecurity function.

Pathway 5: Work Experience

Professionals with experience in system administration, network engineering or infrastructure roles have a significant advantage when transitioning to cybersecurity roles. Their practical knowledge of IT systems ensures they understand how to maintain, troubleshoot and optimize network and system performance. These skills are directly transferable to securing those same systems.

As an HR manager, you should recognize the potential to fast-track these individuals into cybersecurity careers. Their existing knowledge allows them to bypass years of foundational training, focusing instead on acquiring specific security skills.

Networking is a powerful tool when looking to recruit experienced professionals with cybersecurity talent. Professional associations, industry conferences and online communities are excellent sources for connecting with candidates who may be seeking new opportunities.

Conclusion

Recruiting cybersecurity talent requires an appreciation for the diverse pathways that candidates may take to gain the necessary skills. Candidates with experience in system administration, network engineering or infrastructure roles may find themselves well positioned to transition into cybersecurity. Sometimes, the talent is right under your nose, and with some upskilling and on-the-job experience, you can fast-track existing employees to cybersecurity roles. By recognizing transferable skills or nontraditional education, you can tap into a rich pool of cybersecurity talent that is both technically proficient and security-conscious.

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Careful vetting of prospective new hires is a critical part of nearly every employer’s onboarding process. Once skills and cultural fit are confirmed, human resources professionals must verify references, education and professional credentials and, importantly, look for criminal history that could add risk in the workplace.

Not only does a background-screening practice enhance safety for employees, customers and other stakeholders, it also may Improve the overall quality of hires – if background searches are handled correctly. Fortunately, the technology underlying background checks is rapidly evolving to deliver more accurate, efficient results, while empowering HR departments to examine each candidate’s record in nuanced detail.

Background search complexity

“One reason background checks have changed is that they have had to. Employers’ needs and the search dynamics are much different today,” explains Tom Manning, Vice President of Sales at background search provider Asurint. He interacts extensively with HR teams, staffing firms and others involved in hiring.

A key challenge is the record-keeping complexity across the United States. To find criminal records means to search county, state and often federal repositories, and this presents technical hurdles, according to Nathan Eads, Asurint’s Chief Strategy Officer. “While many jurisdictions offer digital access, some remain offline or limit the information available to the public. Various local courts restrict how criminal records can be searched, and their fees differ too. Jurisdictions routinely enhance these rules, and they need to adapt to those changes to maintain accuracy and time efficient services delivery.”

Back when companies recruited from a narrowly defined geographical area, jurisdictional variation was a relatively small issue. HR professionals could get to know a handful of counties and run the same background screens over and over.

“That’s not the world they live in anymore. Nowadays, companies are increasingly open to recruiting talent from diverse sources, whether they’re vying for students from universities across the nation or embracing remote employees across the country,” explains Huda Leininger, Vice President of Human Resources at Asurint.

Furthermore, employees themselves are highly mobile. They relocate residences, travel to neighboring cities for entertainment, and frequently embark on cross-country vacations. “Criminal convictions that employers should be aware of can occur outside jurisdictions disclosed in an application,” Leininger notes. “A comprehensive background check in today’s environment should have the sophistication to quickly and efficiently search for such records.”

Technology to the rescue

Employers must search widely to get the full picture of a job applicant. They need a comprehensive vetting but also a rapid one, in order to onboard their candidate before they pursue competing offers. Cost frequently enters the equation as well. Employers struggle to balance time and budget efficiency with thoroughness.

Smart technology is solving the problem. Asurint, for example, has forged direct relationships with courts across the country, providing rapid digital access to records covering 85 per cent of US population. This feature is combined with automated technology that evaluates each prospective hire’s residential history and recommends the best search parameters.

When results are returned, additional technology helps corroborate records and incorporate reportability-related regulations. “When an issue arises – maybe a court record is incomplete or the candidate lives in a jurisdiction impacted by Fair Chance legislation – their reporting parameters are automatically applied to provide their HR clients with complete and actionable information,” says Eads. 

Quality assurance improves candidate experience and hiring success, Leininger adds. “Candidates may not care about what’s happening ‘behind’ a background check, the processes and technologies that make it happen. But they care deeply that the system gets it right. Refuting false information can be stressful and many great candidates may simply move on rather than deal with the hassle.” 

More discerning hiring decisions

Conducting the best background check possible is a huge advantage for employers. Enabling HR professionals to act on the results in a personalised fashion is another plus.

With the sheer number of applicants to vet, HR teams can become overwhelmed with background reports. Humans weren’t made to sort hundreds of pages of similar-looking data in search of a needle in the haystack. Computers, on the other hand, are great at this kind of task.

“That’s why Asurint puts technology to work. Applying an employer’s job-specific hiring matrix, the system automatically highlights background reports with relevant records for review,” says Manning. “This solution has countless benefits. Timesaving is an obvious one. Also, the people reviewing the reports can differentiate between essential and irrelevant details.”

As a result, background check reviews become more discerning. By reducing the manual burden, HR gains the opportunity to perform better analyses, examining the type of offence, the time that’s passed, any concerning patterns and other context. Particularly in an era of Fair Chance hiring, this type of individualised consideration is helping HR open the door to deserving candidates who may have been screened out in the past. 

An empowered future for employee screening

The transition from smart automation, algorithms and machine learning to true artificial intelligence will only expand these capabilities. “Background checks will become even faster and more thorough, even as compliance requirements multiply,” Eads predicts. “Individual background report evaluations will, in turn, become more nuanced, as algorithms Improve the existing background screening methods that are attuned with fair hiring practices.”

As is the case with any innovation, those who build and use advanced background check solutions must be on guard against unintended effects, such as reflecting unconscious bias. Being aware of the pitfalls is key, according to Manning. “If the industry keeps their goals and values top of mind, the next generation of screening solutions will further help HR professionals view each candidate as an individual with a unique history worthy of due consideration.”

Although it may seem ironic, more technological advancement will continue to make employee screening more and more human.

Learn more about Asurint here.

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Defending his 70-hour work week call to Indian youth that created a furore late last year, Infosys founder N.R. Narayana Murthy has said that he has not given such advice to people without having done it himself.

In an interview with CNBC-TV18 along with his wife Sudha Murty, he said that youth in this country need to work hard where less privileged people already work extremely hard to make ends meet.

“If anybody that has performed much better than me in their own field, not necessarily in my field, I would respect, I would call them, and I would say, where do you think I was wrong in saying this? But I didn’t find it,” Narayana Murthy said when asked about his 70-hour work week advice.

“A lot of my western friends, a lot of NRIs, a lot of good people in India called me, and without exception, they were all very happy (with my advice),” the Infosys founder added.

He justified his advice, saying that they have to work hard in this country because the poor farmer works very hard.

“You know, the poor factory worker works very hard. So, therefore, those of us who received education at a huge discount, thanks to the subsidy from the government for all these education, owe it to the less fortunate citizens of India to work extremely hard,” he noted.

Sudha Murty said that her father used to work more than 70 hours a week.

“My sister is a doctor. She also works more than 70 hours. Narayana Murthy has worked 90 hours a week,” she said.

After triggering a huge debate over his statement in October that youth should work 70 hours a week, Narayana Murthy said in December that he used to be in office at 6:20 a.m.

The 77-year-old came out in support of his statement that went viral and drew mixed reactions from people.

“I used to be in the office at 6:20 a.m. and leave the office at 8:30 p.m. and worked six days a week. I know every nation that became prosperous did so through hard work,” Narayana Murthy had told The Economic Times.

“During my entire 40-plus years of professional life, I worked 70 hours a week. When they had a six-day week till 1994, I used to work at least 85 to 90 hours a week. That has not been a waste,” he added.