{"id":221347,"date":"2026-05-27T18:12:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T22:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/27\/aisa-calls-for-diversity-in-cybersecurity-workforce\/"},"modified":"2026-05-27T18:25:20","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T22:25:20","slug":"aisa-calls-for-diversity-in-cybersecurity-workforce","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/27\/aisa-calls-for-diversity-in-cybersecurity-workforce\/","title":{"rendered":"AISA calls for diversity in cybersecurity workforce"},"content":{"rendered":"

AISA calls for diversity in cybersecurity workforce<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/asiapacificdefencereporter.com\/aisa-calls-for-diversity-in-cybersecurity-workforce\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Publish Date: 2026-05-27 18:12:00<\/a><\/p>\n

Source Domain: asiapacificdefencereporter.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Author: <\/a><\/p>\n

Using an unordered list, summarize the following article with between 4 and 8 key points.
\n Australia\u2019s top cyber security body is calling for urgent national action to diversify the cyber workforce, warning the country cannot afford to leave critical talent untapped as cyber threats escalate and workforce shortages deepen. The Australian Information Security Association (AISA) said Australia faces a growing cyber capability gap at the same time governments, critical infrastructure operators and businesses are confronting increasingly sophisticated threats.
\nJobs and Skills Australia data showed around 70,900 Australians were employed as Database and Systems Administrators and ICT Security Specialists in August 2025, with employment in the sector projected to grow by 14.2 per cent by 2029, more than double the national average. At the same time, more than 50 per cent of Australian Government agencies are already experiencing critical cyber security skills shortages, according to the State of the Service Report.
\nAISA Board Member and cyber expert Scarlett McDermott said Australia would struggle to meet future cyber capability demands unless governments and industry took stronger action to diversify by attracting more women, people who identify as women, First Nations people and people from disadvantaged backgrounds into the sector.v\u201cCyber security is now fundamental to Australia\u2019s national resilience, economic stability and public safety, but we are still drawing from a workforce pool that is far too narrow,\u201d McDermott said. \u201cWe cannot continue talking about cyber shortages while overlooking enormous talent pools across the Australian community. Women, for example, currently make up just 17 per cent of Australia\u2019s cyber security workforce. That figure alone shows we are nowhere near where we need to be.\u201d
\nAISA said improving diversity was not simply an equity issue, but a national capability issue. Research and workforce data by Industry Skills Australia continues to show that less diverse industries experience deeper and more persistent workforce shortages, while broader participation improves innovation, productivity and resilience.
\nMcDermott, speaking at CyberConnect Canberra 2026, said cyber teams benefit from different lived experiences, cultural perspectives and problem-solving approaches, particularly as cyber threats increasingly target diverse communities, essential services and vulnerable Australians. \u201cCyber attackers do not all think the same way, and our defenders cannot all come from the same backgrounds either,\u201d she said. \u201cWe need stronger pathways for women and people who identify as women, First Nations Australians, regional Australians, career changers and people from disadvantaged communities. That means scholarships, paid pathways, mentoring, flexible work arrangements, targeted cadetships and far greater investment in cyber education and training.\u201d
\nAISA is calling on governments to expand incentives and workforce initiatives that specifically support underrepresented groups entering cyber careers, including through schools, vocational education, universities and mid-career transition programs.<\/p>\n

For Editorial Inquiries Contact:Editor Kym Bergmann at\u00a0[email\u00a0protected]For Advertising Inquiries Contact:Group Sales Director Simon Hadfield at\u00a0[email\u00a0protected]<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

AISA calls for diversity in cybersecurity workforce https:\/\/asiapacificdefencereporter.com\/aisa-calls-for-diversity-in-cybersecurity-workforce\/ Publish Date: 2026-05-27 18:12:00 Source Domain: asiapacificdefencereporter.com…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":221348,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/asiapacificdefencereporter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AISA-CyberConnect-Canberra-2026-scaled.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[24],"class_list":["post-221347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cybersecurity","tag-cybersecurity"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221347"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=221347"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221347\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":221349,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221347\/revisions\/221349"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/221348"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=221347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=221347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=221347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}