- Title
- An investigation into the cybersecurity skills gap in South Africa
- Creator
- De Jager, Michael
- Subject
- Criminal investigation
- Subject
- Information technology--Security measures -- South Africa
- Date Issued
- 2023-04
- Date
- 2023-04
- Type
- Master's theses
- Type
- Thesis
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10948/60635
- Identifier
- vital:66247
- Description
- The usage of the internet both in our daily lives and in the operations of organisations has grown significantly in modern society. However, there are also risks and vulnerabilities associated with this, thus cyber threats. Cybersecurity has been put in place to safeguard the internet from these cyber threats, yet there is an ever-growing concern regarding the implementation of cybersecurity, both globally and in South Africa. With the increase in cyber threats, there is a growing need and demand for IT professionals with the requisite cybersecurity skills and knowledge to combat and mitigate these threats. However, an ever-increasing cybersecurity skills gap has been identified both globally and in South Africa. Yet the specific cybersecurity skills demand, needs and challenges of IT professionals in South Africa are currently unknown. This study therefore investigated the cybersecurity skills demand, needs, and challenges of IT professionals in South Africa by reporting on IT professionals’ perceptions in this regard. An online questionnaire was used to gather information for this and was distributed to IT professionals using various online platforms. According to the findings of the study, there are several challenges such as lack of time, lack of funding and a lack of resources that South Africa must overcome in order to address the cybersecurity skills gap. From the survey results it was also found that neither tertiary institutions, nor organisations, nor the South African government are investing enough in cybersecurity skills development. Without the right cybersecurity skills set or investment in the development of cybersecurity skills, cyber threats will continue to increase and will potentially become more harmful to South African organisations and to the South African society at large. Furthermore, this study addresses the extent to which cybersecurity-related skills are required and currently used by IT professionals in South Africa to address the cybersecurity skills gap. Tertiary institutions, organisations and the South African government may benefit from this investigation as it could assist in the development of cybersecurity course work as well as national cybersecurity laws, legislations and policies.
- Description
- Thesis (MIT) -- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment and Technology, School of Information Technology, 2023
- Format
- computer
- Format
- online resource
- Format
- application/pdf
- Format
- 1 online resource (iii,157 pages)
- Format
- Publisher
- Nelson Mandela University
- Publisher
- Faculty of Engineering, the Built Environment and Technology
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Nelson Mandela University
- Rights
- All Rights Reserved
- Rights
- Open Access
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Collections
NMU School of Information and Communication Technology
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | De Jager, M.pdf | 1 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |