Most businesses can't fill cyber roles leaving huge gaps in defense

• Cisco surveyed 8,000 security and business leaders for a new report
• Most firms suffered an AI-powered attack last year
• Filling cybersecurity roles seems to be a major challenge

Most businesses cannot fill vacant roles for cybersecurity professionals, leaving huge gaps in their defenses which threat actors can easily exploit. These are some of the findings echoed in the 2025 Cybersecurity Readiness Index, a report recently published by networking giants Cisco.

The paper was drafted based on a double-blind survey of 8,000 private sector security and business leaders in 30 global markets. In it, Cisco said that almost nine in ten (86%) of the respondents identified the shortage of skilled cybersecurity professionals as a “major challenge”. Furthermore, it was said that more than half of the respondents reported having more than ten vacant positions.

The shortage of skilled staff is not a new issue - TechRadar Pro has been reporting on it for years now. Even three years ago, Harvey Nash Group claimed that there is a shortfall of 10,000 people a year in the UK’s cybersecurity talent pool, alone. To make matters worse, those who remain in the industry are overwhelmed with work and often burnt out, resulting in health problems, as well.

Investing in AI

To address the problem, Cisco’s new paper argues that businesses should “invest in AI-driven solutions, simplify security infrastructures, and enhance AI threat awareness.”

“Prioritizing AI for threat detection, response, and recovery is essential, as is addressing talent shortages,” the company concluded.

Artificial Intelligence seems to be the underlying theme of the entire paper. Cisco said the technology is both “revolutionizing security” and “escalating threat levels” adding that 86% of the respondents faced AI-related security incidents last year, and half (49%) were confident their employees are aware of the threat.

Finally, Cisco warned that just 4% of organizations worldwide can be considered “mature” when it comes to the level of readiness needed to effectively withstand today’s cybersecurity threats.

"As AI transforms the enterprise, we are dealing with an entirely new class of risks at unprecedented scale - putting even more pressure on our infrastructure and those who defend it," said Cisco Chief Product Officer Jeetu Patel.

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