WEF outlook: Need for bridging cyber skills gap stressed

KARACHI: National-level cybersecurity institutions should be established on a priority basis to produce skilled experts and meet the growing human resource needs at home and abroad, experts said.

According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Cybersecurity Outlook report 2025, the cyber skills gap continues to be a key challenge to organizations becoming more resilient. The report estimated that the cybersecurity sector is grappling with a significant workforce shortage, with estimates of the shortfall ranging from 2.8 million to 4.8 million cybersecurity professionals.

Experts said the strategic and defense ties of Pakistan with Saudi Arabia, along with its increasing role in the security of Muslim countries, also demand competent and expert cyber guards in the future to strengthen the country’s cybersecurity and capitalize the growing global demand.

In addition, the military conflicts between different states in 2025, including Pakistan versus India and Iran against Israel, have exposed the importance of cybersecurity and cyber strength for both defense and offensive operations against enemy states.

“Pakistan needs to adopt long-term education and skill development policies to address the growing challenges of the modern technological world and pursue a progressive journey towards financial and economic sustainability,” Muhammad Shamir Ali Khan, a cybersecurity expert.

He said the paradigm shifts from conventional war to cyberwarfare, and the exploitation of advanced technology in military conflicts, demand tech-savvy and expert professionals in the strategic and defense departments of every country.

Considering the importance and sensitivity of this expertise, every country and defense institution is working to develop its own sovereign cybersecurity force based on loyal and trained citizens, he said, adding that there is a global shortage of cybersecurity professionals, which remains the biggest challenge for every state.

Shamir said Pakistan, having strategic and defense ties with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, will also require more cybersecurity guards to defend against invisible security threats on multiple fronts. Hence, robust training programs should be designed to build the capacity of IT professionals in cybersecurity, in collaboration with relevant industry and academia, on a war-footing basis, he added.

“Cybersecurity institutions should be established at the national level to nurture the guards of a cybersecurity on a priority basis and meet the growing human resource requirements of the country and abroad,” Shamir said.

Furthermore, Pakistan should introduce undergraduate to PhD programs in cybersecurity and advanced technologies in the strategic to lead the world from the front in the future, he added.

Dr. Noman Said, an IT and safe city expert, said that countries are working to train cybersecurity experts for both external and internal defense systems to provide security to citizens and their assets.

As Pakistan works to launch its digital currency, its financial institutions remain vulnerable to cyberattacks due to a lack of professionals in the field, as well as outdated deployment of software and hardware systems, he said.

From ministries to tax authorities in the public sector, and from banks to utility companies in the private sector, multiple corporations have incurred losses due to hackers’ attacks and cybercrimes in the past, Noman mentioned.