Pay for IT security consultants leaps

Pay for IT security consultants has risen by an average of 22 per cent in the last year, evidence that companies are taking action to address security issues as Internet fraud continues to rise, according to a recent skills survey.

According to the iProfileStats/ATSCo research, rates for contract staff with security skills jumped from £40 per hour in 2004 to £50 per hour in 2005. Salaries for full-time security consultants rose from £37,000 in 2004 to £45,000 in 2005.

Short supply

Ann Swain, Chief Executive of the agency trade association, Association of Technology Staffing Companies (ATSCo) said: "Data security is now a boardroom issue and consultants with those skills are wielding ever more influence and commanding larger pay packets. As more core business processes become dependent on IT demand for security experts will rise.

"The short supply of IT consultants with security skills is potentially problematic for UK institutions as they need to address stakeholder and customer concerns about data integrity.

"The security skills crisis is a factor of the recent and rapid rise of the Internet over the last 10 years. Before IT systems were networked to the extent they are now, the issue of data leakage or theft was marginal."

The survey cites incidents in recent months where companies such as LexisNexis and ChoicePoint admitted that personal data held on hundreds of thousands of consumers had been stolen.

Ann Swain said: "High profile breaches involving theft of customer data have provided an additional spur to action, forcing organisations to re-evaluate and in many cases spend millions on bolstering their security."

Such is the emerging profile of IT security that the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is backing a national institute for IT security experts, the Institute for Information Security Professionals (IISP), which is due to open its doors in early 2006.

Troubleshooters

Consultants engaged as troubleshooters enjoyed generous pay increases taking home on average 32 per cent more this year than last (£50 per hour for contractors in 2005 compared to £43 per hour in 2004; £44,000 in 2005 for permanent staff compared with £30,000 in 2004), according to the research.

This, says iProfileStats/ATSCo, is as a result of IT systems becoming increasingly complex, particularly in areas such as finance and government, which is fuelling demand for experts skilled in identifying and fixing computer errors.

Ann Swain said: "Standardised desktop systems are becoming much more reliable but bespoke systems in the corporate and government sectors can be hugely ambitious and complex, often introducing untested technologies for the first time."

"The integration and layering of IT systems resulting from M&A and regulatory requirements over the next few years will ensure troubleshooters are in high demand."