With the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, the IT industry is facing unprecedented transformation. According to the latest report from Pluralsight, over half of IT professionals are concerned about AI-driven threats, while a staggering 74% of IT experts fear their jobs will be replaced by AI tools.
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Currently, only 40% of organizations offer formal structured training and guidance for AI. Bri Frost, Director of Pluralsight's Security and IT Operations courses, stated: "Advanced threat actors are increasingly targeting critical infrastructure and OT technologies, which are often outdated and have more vulnerabilities, posing higher risks."
In the face of the growing prevalence of AI-driven threats, professionals urgently need to enhance their skills and master specialized knowledge to effectively address these evolving challenges. Over 75% of respondents believe that threat intelligence and reverse engineering are the most valuable advanced cybersecurity skills today, with 24% mentioning threat hunting.
Aaron Rosenmund, Senior Director of Pluralsight's Security and GenAI skills, noted: "The top advanced cybersecurity skills today are those that can proactively test defenses against current and future tactics, and quickly translate this information into methods for the organization's detection, protection, and hunting activities." This, combined with a solid foundation in network, endpoint, server, and cloud concepts, will enable individuals to provide immediate results and risk reduction for their organizations.
As progress in cybersecurity and digital threats continues, some lesser-known cybersecurity roles are gaining recognition, providing critical expertise in protecting digital environments and valuable data. 34% of respondents believe that cybersecurity data scientists will become more mainstream in the near future, and 22% say vulnerability developers will also become more popular. Other emerging cybersecurity roles include DevSecOps (16%), red team operators (12%), threat hunters (10%), and ICS/SCADA security engineers (4%).
Frost also emphasized the demand for cybersecurity data scientists: "Filtering through large datasets from a security analysis perspective is becoming increasingly difficult. Managing and monitoring logs from various endpoints, network data, and user behavior is a significant task—seeing the demand for data analysts will help identify and mitigate malicious traffic more effectively and quickly."
Clearly, developing plans to enhance skills and understanding AI threats is crucial for the future of cybersecurity. As AI technology continues to advance, the complexity of its potential threats is also increasing.
Key Points:
🤖 **AI Anxiety**: Over 70% of IT professionals fear being replaced by AI tools.
🛡️ **Skill Upgrade**: 75% of respondents believe threat intelligence and reverse engineering are key skills.
🔍 **Emerging Roles**: Cybersecurity data scientists and vulnerability developers are gaining more attention.