The UK cyber security market presents investors with a useful contradiction. Demand is clear, budgets remain under pressure, and the sector continues to expand, yet many organisations still struggle to build the security capability they need at the pace the risk environment requires. That gap between strategic intent and operational capacity is increasingly important for investors assessing resilience, execution risk and management discipline.
The issue is not simply a shortage of people. It is often a shortage of realistic hiring strategies. Many cyber security role specifications attempt to combine several specialist disciplines into one appointment. A single vacancy may call for deep cloud security expertise, governance and risk knowledge, budget ownership, incident response experience and senior stakeholder management, all within a salary range that has not adjusted to the market. For boards, this creates a practical problem. The longer a business waits for a candidate who may not exist, the longer key controls, response processes and leadership responsibilities remain exposed.
An unfilled senior cyber role is not a neutral position. It can slow incident response, increase pressure on existing teams and allow vulnerability backlogs to grow. In an environment where cyber incidents can rapidly become operational, financial and reputational events, time-to-hire becomes part of risk management. A vacant post may appear to preserve salary budget in the short term, but the wider cost can emerge through reduced resilience and slower decision-making when a business most needs clarity.
A more effective approach is to hire for the right core capabilities rather than wait for perfection. The strongest organisations identify the non-negotiable elements of a role, such as technical judgement, ownership, learning ability and the capacity to communicate risk clearly to senior stakeholders. They then invest in developing the remaining skills internally. This is particularly relevant in cyber security, where tools, threats and regulatory expectations continue to evolve. A candidate’s ability to adapt may be more valuable than a narrow match against every line of a job description.
Gattaca plc (LON:GATC) is a specialist recruitment and workforce solutions company headquartered in Fareham, UK. It provides contract and permanent staffing solutions, engineering consultancy, and statement of work (SOW) services. Brands include Matchtech, Gattaca Projects and InfoSec People.
