How to Solve the Cybersecurity Talent Shortage (Without Outsourcing)

What is the Cybersecurity Talent Deficit?

Cybersecurity is facing a serious workforce shortage. In 2024 alone, over 4 million cybersecurity roles remained unfilled globally. Small to midsize businesses—often without the budget or brand recognition of larger enterprises—struggle the most to fill these roles. This growing gap leaves organizations vulnerable to cyberattacks, data breaches, and compliance failures.

Why Hiring Alone Isn't Working

Many organizations try to solve the problem by "buying" talent—hiring experienced professionals with the right certifications. But this method has major downsides. Salaries continue to skyrocket, competition is fierce, and experienced candidates are often poached by larger firms.

Hiring alone simply isn't scalable. Even companies willing to pay top dollar can't find enough qualified applicants. For smaller organizations, the challenge is even steeper: they're priced out entirely.

The Pitfalls of Outsourcing Cybersecurity

Outsourcing cybersecurity can seem like a quick fix. But relying on third-party vendors—especially those overseas—comes with serious trade-offs. Many companies unknowingly work with outsourced firms in regions that lack stable governance or data privacy protections.

Language barriers, time zone differences, and inconsistent service levels often erode trust and performance. Most critically, when it's not your team, it's harder to build the kind of real-time responsiveness today's threats landscape demands.

The Power of "Building" Talent Internally

Instead of buying or outsourcing, a third path is emerging: build. Developing your own cybersecurity talent internally takes time, but the return on investment is huge. Interns and early-career hires trained in your system, tools, and workflows quickly become high-performing team members. These individuals are often more loyal, innovative, and aligned with your organization's goals.

A Case Study: Tenfold Security + University of Saint Mary

At Tenfold Security, we decided to stop chasing resumes and start building our own team. In 2022, we partnered with the University of Saint Mary to create an internship program focused on hands-on, real-world cybersecurity experience.

From just one intern, our program has expanded to include multiple students each semester. We've since helped shape a dedicated security lab at USM and hired our first full-time cybersecurity specialist directly from the program. These aren't generic IT interns—they're future-ready defenders trained in our own environment.

How Other Organizations Can Do the Same

Creating your own cybersecurity talent pipeline doesn't require a massive budget. Start by reaching out to local colleges and universities. Offer internship opportunities that go beyond shadowing—give students real problems to solve.

Provide mentorship, access to tools, and regular feedback. As the program grows, you'll find yourself with a steady stream of pre-vetted, mission-aligned candidates who are ready to fill the roles that matter.

Final Thoughts: Invest in the Future of Cybersecurity

The cybersecurity talent deficit isn't going away on its own. But the solution doesn't have to come from outside your walls. By choosing to build rather than buy, organizations of any size can create a reliable, loyal, and highly capable cybersecurity workforce.

The key is starting now. Invest in partnerships, mentorships, and education—not just because it solves your staffing issues, but because it strengthens the future of cybersecurity for everyone.