The State of the 2025 Cyber Workforce: Skills Gaps, AI Opportunity and Economic Strain

The article summarizes the 2025 ISC2 cybersecurity workforce report, highlighting that while economic uncertainty is stabilizing, hiring freezes, layoffs, and budget cuts continue to pressure security teams and raise risk amid persistent skills shortages. It notes strong, positive momentum around AI adoption—with many professionals pursuing AI qualifications and seeing new roles emerge—alongside generally positive job satisfaction tempered by retention concerns. The piece also observes sectoral differences in layoffs and budget impacts, rising demand for AI-related cybersecurity skills, and emphasizes partnerships, mentoring, internships, and strong communication skills as critical for career growth.