There has never been a more important time to hire cybersecurity experts than in the world we live in today, where theft of digital information is the most commonly reported fraud. One alarming trend, as reported by The Wall Street Journal, is the prevalence of employees faking applications and fraudulently accepting remote positions in companies across the country, which can put these organizations at risk of having their data stolen.
Hiring top cybersecurity talent is a complex and even daunting task. And for some organizations, given the risk of cyber threats and the demand for these roles, it might feel nearly impossible. In 2025, there are approximately 510,000 cybersecurity roles open in the United States, and only enough cybersecurity workers to fill 74% of the jobs that employers demand.
The talent gap isn’t the only challenge that organizations face in hiring skilled cybersecurity professionals. Cybersecurity roles typically require a high degree of expertise, skill, and trust, which means that employers need more accurate data and background screening technology to help them fill jobs more efficiently, with better qualified candidates. However, an Equifax survey found that 71% of HR professionals have encountered fabricated or misleading candidate information, demonstrating the importance of a more thorough vetting process for all candidates — especially cybersecurity professionals.
The Unique Requirements of Cybersecurity Roles
It’s difficult to overstate the importance of cybersecurity professionals to their organizations. These experts play an integral role in protecting intellectual property and infrastructure, helping to ensure that customers’ data stays secure and that the company is protected against cyber threats. These roles require specific subject matter expertise and technical skills, which are often gained through cybersecurity education and certifications, as well as years of on-the-job experience working to help prevent and protect organizations against potential attacks.
Beyond technical expertise, there are a number of harder-to-quantify attributes that help make cybersecurity professionals more effective. The people who thrive in cybersecurity roles are often savvy enough to think like bad actors, giving them the ability to more proactively identify potential vulnerabilities that can disrupt their organizations.
Cyber-attacks have the potential to become more sophisticated every year, and it’s important for these professionals to be curious and to stay on the cutting edge of evolving threats and technologies, like AI.
Individuals in these intense roles may also experience fatigue from the constant security alerts, long hours, and pressure to stay ahead of the next threats. This underscores the crucial responsibility of HR recruiters to not only find top talent to fill roles, but to help protect employees from burnout.
The complexity of cybersecurity roles can create a challenge for the recruiting teams that are racing to hire top talent before their competitors. It’s crucial to thoroughly assess the background of potential hires, who would have elevated access to sensitive data and assets, but the Equifax survey also found that only 12% of HR professionals report consistently hiring candidates quickly. Speed to hire is already a challenge for many HR professionals, and the urgency of filling these roles is amplified by the threat of cyberattacks, which can lead to financial losses, reputational damage, and regulatory penalties. As a result, those hiring for top cybersecurity talent are seeking processes that help optimize speed-to-hire as well as careful vetting of candidates.
How Background Screening Can Help Improve Hiring for Cybersecurity Roles
In a field where trust and integrity are paramount, verifying past employment and helping identify potential red flags is essential. Given the unique and intense requirements of cybersecurity roles, it’s essential for employers to leverage more accurate data in the hiring process to help you identify candidates with the necessary qualifications. With today’s technology, many aspects of background checks can be automated and completed more quickly, often helping to improve time to hire. Background screening processes that use reliable, up-to-date data can help recruiting teams in three key ways:
- Validating Expertise: While resumes and interviews offer insights into a candidate’s experience and credentials, it’s estimated that 40% of people lie on their resumes — and the Equifax survey also found that only 1 in 5 HR professionals are “very confident” about their ability to detect fabricated or misleading candidate information. Verifying previous employment and education with background checks can help increase an employer’s confidence that a cybersecurity professional has the experience they say they do. Additionally, because cybersecurity jobs require extremely specialized knowledge, helping ensure that candidates have the education they claim to is typically non-negotiable.
- Verifying Criminal Background: Cybersecurity professionals have a high level of access to their organization’s data and assets. This means that employers should want to complete criminal background checks, which can help identify potential red flags and better mitigate workforce risk. Employers can request criminal background verifications that are sometimes automated to help ensure greater accuracy and speed. While each employer has its own hiring policies regarding applicants with criminal records, it’s important for the organization to have the data to make better informed and more timely decisions.
- Confirming Trust: Cybersecurity professionals have an extremely high level of access to sensitive information, and unique knowledge of both ethical and malicious digital practices — which means that integrity is usually of the utmost importance. Why should an organization trust a candidate who lies on their resume with their most intimate assets? Verifying previous employment and education through background checks and comparing that data against a candidate’s resume/application can help employers confirm that an individual is possibly more trustworthy and better qualified. The ability to verify sometimes within seconds that a candidate did, in fact, work in their previous role for 10 years can help employers better confirm a candidate’s integrity while making it easier to hire that person more quickly.
By embracing data-driven background screening processes, organizations can better navigate the tricky path of finding uniquely skilled cybersecurity talent typically without having to sacrifice speed or security. A more thorough approach to cybersecurity hiring isn’t just a compliance measure, it’s a critical component of building a more robust, resilient cybersecurity defense team.
Bart Lautenbach is Senior Vice President and General Manager of Talent Solutions, Equifax Workforce Solutions. He has more than 20 years of experience leading product and sales teams in the industrial manufacturing and technology industries. He currently leads a business unit focused on providing HR professionals and background screeners solutions and insights that help them verify and validate hiring candidates.
Ryan Frillman is Chief Information Security Officer, Equifax Workforce Solutions, where he leads security teams across the organization. Previously, he was at Netskope, driving security transformation and cloud strategy, CISO at Spire Inc., and he also has experience with the Department of Defense working for MITRE. Ryan teaches graduate cybersecurity management courses at Washington University and is also a member of CompTIA’s Executive Advisory Board since 2002 and the Mizzou Cybersecurity Industrial Advisory Board. Additionally, he is a co-founder and partner of STLCIG and LEAD, advising cybersecurity startups.