Cybersecurity is no longer a niche concern for banks and defence contractors. Every company that processes data, serves customers online, or operates digital infrastructure — which is every company — needs security talent. Yet the global cybersecurity workforce gap stands at 4 million professionals, with India accounting for over 30,000 unfilled positions according to NASSCOM's 2025 data. The Digital Personal Data Protection Act has added compliance urgency, and the frequency of high-profile breaches keeps rising. Here is how companies can build security teams in a market where demand vastly exceeds supply.
Understanding the Cybersecurity Talent Landscape
The cybersecurity talent shortage is not uniform. Some specialties are relatively accessible, while others are extraordinarily difficult to fill.
Relatively available (still competitive, but sourceable): - Security operations centre (SOC) analysts — Tier 1 and Tier 2 - Network security administrators - Compliance and audit professionals (ISO 27001, SOC 2) - Security awareness trainers
Extremely scarce: - Cloud security architects (AWS, Azure, GCP security design) - Application security engineers (SAST, DAST, threat modelling, secure SDLC) - Incident response and digital forensics specialists - Red team operators and penetration testers with advanced capabilities - Identity and access management (IAM) architects - Security engineers with DevSecOps expertise
The scarcity gradient matters because it determines your hiring strategy. You can recruit SOC analysts through standard channels. For a cloud security architect, you need a fundamentally different approach.
The Certifications vs Experience Debate
One of the most contentious topics in cybersecurity hiring is whether to prioritise certifications or hands-on experience. The answer is nuanced.
Certifications that carry real weight: - CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional): The gold standard for security leadership. Requires 5 years of experience and demonstrates broad security knowledge. - OSCP (Offensive Security Certified Professional): Hands-on penetration testing certification. One of the few certifications that requires demonstrating real skills, not just passing a multiple-choice exam. - AWS/Azure/GCP Security Specialty: Cloud-specific security certifications that validate practical knowledge. - CISM (Certified Information Security Manager): Focused on security governance and management.
Certifications that are less predictive: - CompTIA Security+: Good for entry-level validation but does not differentiate experienced professionals. - CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker): The curriculum has not kept pace with real-world offensive security practices.
The pragmatic approach: Use certifications as a signal, not a requirement. An engineer with OSCP and 3 years of penetration testing experience is likely excellent. An engineer with no certifications but 8 years of incident response at a major bank is equally valuable. The best hires often combine both — they have the hands-on experience and pursued certifications to deepen and validate their knowledge.
Strategy 1: Cross-Train From Adjacent Roles
The most underutilised strategy for building security teams is cross-training talented engineers from adjacent disciplines. Many of the skills needed in cybersecurity already exist in your engineering organisation.
Strong cross-training paths:
- DevOps/SRE → DevSecOps: Engineers who understand CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure as code, and monitoring are already 60% of the way to DevSecOps. Add container security, SAST/DAST integration, and secrets management, and you have a security engineer.
- Backend engineers → Application security: Engineers who build APIs and services understand the code-level vulnerabilities. Training them in OWASP Top 10, threat modelling, and secure coding transforms them into AppSec engineers.
- Network administrators → Network security: The leap from managing networks to securing them is smaller than it appears. Add firewall management, IDS/IPS, and network forensics to their skill set.
- Data engineers → Data security/Privacy engineering: Engineers who build data pipelines understand data flows, storage, and access patterns. Adding data classification, encryption, and privacy compliance makes them invaluable.
How to make cross-training work: 1. Identify high-potential engineers who show interest in security 2. Sponsor relevant certifications and training (budget: 1-3 lakhs per person) 3. Create a 6-month rotation programme where they work alongside the security team 4. Assign real security projects — not just training exercises 5. Provide mentorship from a senior security professional
The cost of cross-training one engineer (2-4 lakhs including training, certification, and reduced productivity during the transition) is a fraction of the cost of hiring a senior security professional from the open market (often 30-50 LPA for scarce specialties).
Strategy 2: Competitive Compensation (Beyond Salary)
Security professionals know they are in demand. Your compensation package must reflect this reality.
Salary benchmarks (2025, India): - Junior security analyst (0-3 years): 8-15 LPA - Mid-level security engineer (3-6 years): 18-30 LPA - Senior security architect (6-10 years): 35-55 LPA - CISO/Head of Security (10+ years): 60-120 LPA
Beyond salary, security professionals value: - Conference and training budget: Security is a field of continuous learning. A 2-3 lakh annual learning budget for conferences (BSides, Nullcon, Black Hat), training courses (SANS Institute), and certifications is highly valued. - Tool access: Security professionals want to work with best-in-class tools, not legacy systems. Invest in modern security tooling. - Research time: Many security professionals maintain side projects, publish research, or participate in bug bounty programmes. Allowing 10-20% of their time for security research increases retention. - Community involvement: Sponsoring their participation in CTF competitions, security meetups, and open-source security projects builds loyalty and keeps their skills sharp.
Strategy 3: Build Remote Cybersecurity Teams
Cybersecurity work is uniquely suited to remote execution. Most security tasks — code review, vulnerability assessment, incident analysis, compliance auditing — can be done from anywhere. Embracing remote work dramatically expands your talent pool.
Advantages of remote cybersecurity teams: - Access talent in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities where competition is lower and cost of living reduces salary expectations - Attract experienced professionals who have left metro cities but are willing to work remotely - Build diverse teams with different perspectives — crucial in security, where adversarial thinking benefits from varied backgrounds - Provide 24/7 security coverage across time zones without requiring night shifts
Making remote security work: - Secure remote access infrastructure (VPN, zero-trust architecture, endpoint security) - Clear communication protocols for incident response (you need people to respond within minutes, not hours) - Regular in-person meetups (quarterly) for team cohesion and tabletop exercises - Documented runbooks and playbooks that do not require real-time knowledge transfer
Strategy 4: Partner With Specialised Security Recruiters
General IT recruiters struggle with cybersecurity hiring for several reasons:
- They cannot evaluate whether a candidate's experience is genuine or superficial
- They do not understand the subspecialties within cybersecurity
- They lack networks in the security community
- They cannot differentiate between certifications that matter and those that do not
A specialised recruiter who understands security can: - Source passive candidates from security communities, CTF teams, and conference networks - Evaluate technical depth through informed conversations - Position your role compellingly against the security talent market - Advise on competitive compensation and role structuring
At StakTeck, our niche recruitment practice has built dedicated cybersecurity talent pipelines. We understand the difference between a SOC analyst and a threat hunter, between a penetration tester and a red team operator. This domain expertise dramatically improves the quality and speed of cybersecurity placements.
Strategy 5: Invest in Your Employer Brand in Security Communities
Security professionals are a tight-knit community. Your reputation within this community directly impacts your ability to attract talent.
How to build security credibility: - Publish a responsible disclosure policy and run a bug bounty programme (even a small one). This signals security maturity. - Sponsor security conferences (Nullcon, BSides, c0c0n) and meetups. Physical presence matters. - Encourage your security team to speak and publish. Conference talks and blog posts from your team attract like-minded professionals. - Contribute to open-source security tools. Active contributions to projects like OWASP, Snyk, or Falco build credibility.
The Realistic Timeline
Building a cybersecurity team takes time. Here is a realistic timeline:
Month 1-2: Hire a senior security leader (Head of Security or Security Architect) through executive search. This person defines the security strategy and team structure.
Month 3-4: Hire 2-3 mid-level security engineers through specialised recruitment. Focus on the most critical gaps first (typically AppSec and cloud security).
Month 5-6: Launch a cross-training programme to develop security skills within your existing engineering team.
Month 7-12: Expand the team based on the security roadmap. Fill remaining gaps through a combination of hiring, cross-training, and contract specialists for specific projects.
The Key Takeaway
The cybersecurity talent crisis is not going away. Companies that rely solely on traditional hiring channels — job postings, generic recruiters, and waiting for applicants — will continue to struggle. The companies that succeed will combine creative sourcing, competitive compensation, internal development, and specialised recruitment partnerships. Security is too important and the talent too scarce for anything less.
