Hacking’ the Cybersecurity Skills Gap in Developing Countries

This practitioner note discusses emerging best-practices to accelerate cybersecurity skills development in low- and middle-income countries. It focuses on specialist cybersecurity skills, i.e., the human capital needed to fill advanced professional roles such as, inter alia, chief information security officer (CISO), cyber threat intelligence analyst, penetration tester, or cybersecurity architect. Given the increasing societal impact of cybersecurity incidents, there is a growing urgency to invest in cybersecurity skills development. The report provides findings and policy recommendations for a comprehensive and strategic approach to address the cybersecurity skills gap in developing countries, drawing on effective practices and case studies. The note is intended for policy makers in developing countries and for the development community more broadly.

This practitioner note was written by Ghislain de Salins and benefited from the inputs and reviews of Anat Lewin, Samia Melhem, Hyea Won Lee and Casey Torgusson from the World Bank’s Digital Development Global Practice. The note also benefited from the inputs of Diego Angel-Urdinola (World Bank’s Education Global Practice), Kerry-Ann Barrett and Mariana Cardona Clavijo (Organization of American States, OAS), Orhan Osmani and Caroline Troein (International Telecommunications Union, ITU), Matthew Griffin (consultant for the ITU), Natasa Perucica (World Economic Forum), Tatyana Bolton (Google) and Lucas Hernandez (Microsoft).