State of Cybersecurity 2021 - Part 1 - Global Update on Workforce Efforts, Resources and Budgets

Sep 4, 2026

State of Cybersecurity 2021, Part 1 presents results from the annual ISACA global State of Cybersecurity Survey, conducted in the fourth quarter of 2020. The report examines emerging trends in cybersecurity workforce development, staffing, and cybersecurity budgets. Survey findings largely align with prior years, showing persistent staffing shortfalls, ongoing hiring challenges, and continued budget pressure. COVID-19 is linked with mixed effects, supporting retention while not resolving workforce deficiencies.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages29

Reading Time1 h 13 min

AccessFree to download

Executive Summary

Survey Methodology

Uncertainty Amid a Global Pandemic

Vacancies

Pipeline Challenges

Employer Actions

Education vs. Training

Retention Positivity

Has Cybersecurity Funding Reached an Apex?

What Now?

National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education

European Union Agency for Cybersecurity

Workforce Development Perspective

Industry Perspective

Conclusion—Business as Usual Is Not Working

Acknowledgments

State of Cybersecurity 2021 Part 1: Global Update on Workforce Efforts, Resources and Budgets Security © 2021 ISACA. All Rights Reserved. 2 STATE OF CYBERSECURITY 2021, PART 1: GLOBAL UPDATE ON WORKFORCE EFFORTS, RESOURCES AND BUDGETS C O N T E N T S 4 Executive Summary 4 Survey Methodology 7 Uncertainty Amid a Global Pandemic 8 / Vacancies 12 / Pipeline Challenges 14 / Employer Actions 15 / Education vs. Training 19 / Retention Positivity 21 Has Cybersecurity Funding Reached an Apex? 23 What Now? 24 / National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education 24 / European Union Agency for Cybersecurity 25 / Workforce Development Perspective 25 / Industry Perspective 26 Conclusion—Business as Usual Is Not Working 27 Acknowledgments 3 STATE OF CYBERSECURITY 2021, PART 1: GLOBAL UPDATE ON WORKFORCE EFFORTS, RESOURCES AND BUDGETS A B S T R A C T State of Cybersecurity 2021, Part 1: Global Update on Workforce Efforts, Resources and Budgets reports the results of the annual ISACA® global State of Cybersecurity Survey, conducted in the fourth quarter of 2020. This Part 1 report focuses on the current trends in cybersecurity workforce development, staﬃng and cybersecurity budgets. The survey findings reinforce past reporting and, in certain instances, mirror prior year data despite enterprises dealing with a global pandemic and the resulting resource and finance issues. Staﬃng levels, ease of hiring, and retention remain pain points across the globe, and cybersecurity budgets continue a downward trend. The issue of cybersecurity workforce deficiencies remains unresolved, despite years of reporting on this problem from numerous resources. This report features expert commentary from government oﬃcials, industry representatives and apprenticeship advocates to help enterprises understand the problem and to provide possible solutions. 4 STATE OF CYBERSECURITY 2021, PART 1: GLOBAL UPDATE ON WORKFORCE EFFORTS, RESOURCES AND BUDGETS Executive Summary Now in its seventh year, the ISACA® global State of Cybersecurity Survey continues to identify current challenges and trends in the cybersecurity field. State of Cybersecurity 2021, Part 1 analyzes the current survey results regarding cybersecurity workforce development and resourcing. In Part 2 of this report, ISACA examines the survey results relating to IT-related operations, cyberthreats and cybermaturity. The survey findings are largely consistent with the findings from prior years: Enterprises continue to lack desired staﬃng levels to combat cyberthreats. Although the impact of COVID-19 on many businesses and enterprises is negative, respondent data show that the global pandemic helps retention. However, hiring talent remains challenging. Also, optimism surrounding cybersecurity budgets continues to slide despite a sizable number of respondents reporting pandemic-specific security spending. ISACA and many others have been reporting cybersecurity workforce shortages that have not improved significantly in over five years. This report features expert commentary from industry participants, governmental bodies and apprenticeship programs to help enterprises understand why the workforce shortage is not lessening—at least to a certain degree. Much work remains to be done to improve the workforce pipeline, but the good news is that many organizations are tackling the problem. Lack of equity and diversity are global issues plaguing all technology-related fields. In 2020, ISACA launched the One In Tech™ foundation, which seeks to build a healthy digital world that is safe, secure and accessible for all. To aid the One In Tech strategic evidence-based initiatives, ISACA transferred all diversity-related data collection to the foundation. Thus, unlike reports released in prior years, State of Cybersecurity 2021 does not address diversity issues. 1 Survey Methodology In the final quarter of 2020, ISACA sent online survey invitations to a global

FAQs

What does State of Cybersecurity 2021, Part 1 focus on?

It focuses on trends in cybersecurity workforce development, staffing, and cybersecurity budgets, based on ISACA’s annual global survey results.

When was the survey for this report conducted and how were responses collected?

The survey was conducted in the fourth quarter of 2020 using online invitations, with anonymous data collection via SurveyMonkey.

What are the main staffing and hiring challenges highlighted?

Enterprises continue to lack desired staffing levels, hiring talent remains challenging, and workforce deficiencies have not improved significantly over multiple years.

Sep 4, 2026

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