Increased focus on data privacy during pandemic boosts cybersecurity jobs in India, says report

Disruptions related to COVID-19 have resulted in over 30 percent growth in job searches in the field of cybersecurity and related jobs, while postings of these roles have grown by six percent, according to a report.

According to data available with employment portal Indeed, job postings related to cybersecurity showed the largest jump between April and May, while searches saw the biggest increase between the same period.

"Postings for cybersecurity-related jobs have increased by six percent from February-May 2020. During the same period, searches for these roles grew by 30 percent," data showed.

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The report is derived from data on job searches and postings on its platform from February and May. The report further said that software development job postings, on the other hand, increased by 13 percent from February-May.

During the same period, the search for these roles grew by 37 percent, it added.

Job seekers aged 25-29 years rank the highest in terms of searches for cybersecurity-related jobs, followed by 20-24 years and 30-34-years, it said.

The report found that the field sees the most interest from millennials, followed by Gen Z, who are now entering the workforce.

The average annual salary of security specialist is Rs 8,89,265, IT security specialist is Rs 8,07,170, and information security analyst is Rs 4,59,304, it added.

"Against the backdrop of lockdown and an increase in the labour force continuing to work from home, companies want to create a more secure environment to guard against data breaches," Venkata Machavarapu, Head of Engineering, India, and Site Director at Indeed India, said.

As one of the emerging areas that businesses across industries are focussing on, cybersecurity-related roles see a lot of interest from millennials as well as entry-level talent, he added.