First the good news: the European cybersecurity market was valued at €28.05 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach €53.52 billion in 2027, with an average compound annual growth rate of 24.4% over the forecast period 2022-2027.
Here’s even better news: there are multiple cities and regions across Europe where a cybersecurity professional can locate – or move – to nurture a thriving career in this burgeoning sector. As we accelerate our cloud adoption and do more of our banking and shopping online, the potential for malicious actors to access our data increases; therefore, the need for qualified, talented cybersecurity professionals is also growing exponentially.
Legislation, such as the European Cybersecurity Act and GDPR, have also increased the demand for security professionals across the bloc, as well as the rise in cyber-attacks against businesses. Depending on where you want to work, salaries can be high. Luxembourg, for example, has the highest average wage for cybersecurity professionals for more than €112,000 per year.
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Thanks to its solid banking foundations, Switzerland has a high demand for cybersecurity workers and Estonia is another leader in cybersecurity employment thanks to strong government support for the sector. In addition, NATO has established its Cooperative Cyber Defense Center of Excellence in the capital, Tallinn.
To discover the leader of the continent, the United Nations Global Cyber Security Index provides a keen insight through a deep dive into each country’s strengths and weaknesses. Nations are judged on their legal structures, technical capabilities, organizational competences, capacity building and cooperation. In Europe, it is the UK that comes out on top, with London as the leading city in cybersecurity.
London’s long history of financial services has recently been transformed into an expertise in fintech. It is now home to a burgeoning ecosystem of challenger banks, blockchain startups and at least 26 fintech unicorns, including Checkout.com, Monzo, OakNorth Bank, SaltPay and SumUp. With regulation and security at the forefront, cybersecurity is ingrained.
There are many reasons why London is such a hub for cybersecurity roles. There is strong political support for the fintech industry in terms of government mandated in 2021 Kalifa Reviewwhich identified several centers of activity in the UK and also made a number of recommendations to support the sector.
Nationally, the UK is also on an upward trajectory from its landmark 2016 National Cyber Security Strategy, with the creation of a National Cyber Force in 2021 and a redeveloped plan for 2022 to ensure it can continue to adapt, innovate and invest.
In addition, it is home to a number of defense companies such as BAE Systems, Thales, Lockheed Martin Corporation and Northrop Grumman, as well as its own cyberstars, such as Darktrace and Becrypt. All of these companies have industry-leading requirements for cybersecurity professionals.
Open roles are one thing, but they must be supported by a talent pipeline. That’s assured here too thanks to the wealth of higher education institutions in the UK offering bachelor’s and master’s courses. They include a MSc in Information Security at Royal Holloway. This course is accredited by GCHQ, the intelligence and security organization responsible for providing intelligence to the government and armed forces.
Nearby Cambridge has a cybersecurity program and King’s College London has a fully online Global Security course that can be followed as a master, postgraduate diploma or postgraduate certificate.
For those already working in the industry, there are plenty of networking opportunities. London is a global destination and transport hub, making it a great place to live and work. Industry conferences and events that take place here include: UK secwhere cybersecurity leaders meet annually to discuss challenges and trends. FMLS is the largest fintech event in the city, attracting thousands of participants, all of whom network and learn from companies and key decision-makers across multiple verticals.
If you want to explore a career in cybersecurity in one of the most vibrant cities in Europe, we take a look at three open positions below. And there is much more to discover on The House of Talent Job Board.
Cyber Security Detection Engineer, Avertium, Remote
Avertium’s cyber threat intelligence team is looking for a Cybersecurity Detection Engineer to create custom detection rule sets and other content for a variety of security platforms, including SIEM, EDR, SOAR, etc. You should have a good understanding of search query languages and logging parsing strategies, as well as experience creating custom content for at least one security platform. You will need demonstrable experience in a similar role, experience developing custom discovery content for at least one security platform, and experience with Open Source software with varying levels of documentation. Download the full feature specification here.
Senior Internal Control, Exclusive Networks Limited, London
Exclusive Networks is a globally trusted cybersecurity specialist for digital infrastructure. The distinctive approach to cybersecurity gives partners more opportunities and more customer relevance and as a Senior Internal Controls you will be proactive and work on enterprise wide initiatives, in a very diverse and international environment, with regular interactions with management at all levels. You continuously monitor and adjust the internal control frameworks; participate in the update of group policies and procedures, and process flow charts and risk monitoring matrices. Read more about the role here.
Resilience & Business Continuity Consultant, BCT Resourcing, London
You will join a reputation, crisis and resilience team as a Resilience & Business Continuity Consultant to help support clients’ needs in planning, building resilience, preparing for events and incidents. You’ll work on contingency planning for a series of major events, such as a catastrophic cyber-attack, and you’ll design and implement a large-scale resilience transformation program to meet regulatory, government and societal expectations across a number of different sectors. You have experience with operational readiness programs for major events and change initiatives, and knowledge of crisis and incident framework design. Find out more.
Browse all companies currently working across Europe on The House of Talent Job Board
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