The Security Foundation

The importance of security and the role it plays in our lives today has greatly evolved. What we do to help protect people and data is more valuable to the public and private sectors than ever. It’s because of this that we have a new opportunity for growth and expansion within our field.

Here we look at the growing importance of security, the value of careers within the industry, and why DEI is so integral to our recruitment strategies and approach.

Why is the Security Industry Important?

Security is a crucial industry for many reasons. It plays a fundamental role in keeping physical and digital environments safe. As our world becomes more interconnected and online, the indispensability of security cannot be understated.

Here are six areas to highlight the security landscape’s importance:

1. Protection of Assets: Protects our physical and digital assets from theft, damage, and loss. It encompasses everything from personal property to sensitive data to intellectual property
2. Safety of Individuals: Ensures the safety of the public as well as workforces, businesses, and customers. Effective security measures help to prevent threats such as violence, serious accidents, data breaches, and more.
3. Cybersecurity Threats: Safeguards against cyberattacks, breaches and mounting digital threats that lead to financial losses and reputational damage for today’s businesses. Our increasing reliance on technology makes this vital.
4. Compliance and Legal Requirements: Maintains regulatory compliance mandated by specific industries and scenarios, avoiding legal penalties and maintaining trust with stakeholders.
5. Business Continuity: Makes sure businesses can continue operating smoothly without disruption caused by security incidents or breaches.
6. Privacy protections: Secures personal data and information, mitigating unauthorized access. With personal data constantly being collected and stored, this is paramount for preserving privacy and trust.

Why Are Security Careers Valuable Right Now?

Our industry is at the forefront of emerging issues. Specifically, when it comes to the intersection of technology and society. For anyone who has an interest in complex problem-solving, this industry needs you and there’s innate value that you bring to security and vice versa.

The demand for security professionals is rapidly increasing, especially as companies invest more heavily in security measures. Security jobs are also considered essential, making them less susceptible to economic downturns and more stable overall. The opportunities to be part of impactful work as well as engage in continuous learning and professional growth are additional value-adds for anyone considering this industry.

Something else we’re seeing increase rapidly is the rise in more diverse opportunities. Not only does security span across various industries, from finance to healthcare to tech, security as a practice is also multi-faceted. Candidates can pursue intelligence roles, physical security, computing – the list goes on. And within those, there are multiple pathways to pursue such as communications, research, analytics, or technology development. It’s an exciting and fruitful time to enter the space.

DEI: A Cornerstone of Security Recruitment

The rising demand for people to join the security industry means we need DEI to be a part of the recruitment process. Our talent pools must be as diverse as the roles and opportunities we seek to fill. First, this means breaking down some barriers.

DEI is Not a Security Threat

A major concern when it comes to DEI efforts in recruiting for the security industry is that it distracts from critical missions. But focusing on diverse candidates does not, in fact, come at the cost of qualified ones. The reality is that siloed thinking leads to siloed protections, so a lack of diversity contributes to setbacks in our industry’s approach. To really take advantage of all the ways DEI can improve security practices, we need to do away with the idea that it ultimately undermines our efforts or makes what we’re doing ineffective.

The Industry Needs DEI to Thrive

There’s a lot of opportunity and open roles in security right now, and we both want and need top talent to fill those jobs. When DEI is a part of recruitment and business strategies, it leads to more varied candidates who bring new ideas and thought processes to the issues and challenges we need to resolve. When looking at individual companies, DEI can lead to more profitable outcomes and less risk. From the perspective of the industry at large, DEI makes us more resilient, contributing to effectively reaching long-term goals and success.

We Need to Expand the Recruitment Pipeline

One of the main reasons we’ve struggled to have more diversity in the security sector is because of the traditional recruitment pipeline. Typically focused on those with law enforcement or military backgrounds, it does not pave the way for making diverse thinking the norm. This doesn’t mean we need to move away from this recruitment pipeline. Those traditional backgrounds are important, and we need them, but now we need to understand that they only encompass one piece of the puzzle. We need to shift our approach to more candidates with diverse backgrounds and experiences, so we encompass a wider range of knowledge and insight.

Taking Action Through the Security Coalition for Equitable Advancement (SCEA)

Earlier this year we collaborated with leaders across our industry to build the Security Coalition for Equitable Advancement (SCEA). A critical focus is to support more diverse recruitment practices. As we accelerate DEI across the sector, we are positioning our industry to effectively compete for top talent. Infusing DEI into how we recruit is a mission critical strategy to help ensure we get the best candidates from a wide range of talent pools.

It’s an exciting time for security, with new opportunities to do impactful and meaningful work front and center. Through SCEA, we are working to change traditional recruitment approaches, so the initiatives and new approaches coming from the industry are directly reflective of the people, groups, and clients we serve.

To get involved with SCEA or hear more about our DEI efforts please contact [email protected] or visit https://securityfdn.org/scea