Majority of cyber security firms are hiring despite skill shortage
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Almost half (48%) of cyber security companies reported growth in exports over the past 12 months and 63% of companies reported increased domestic sales according to a study from Cyber Ireland. This growth is expected to continue into 2026 with 68% of firms projecting domestic sales to increase, and 66% projecting increased exports.
The poll of provides insights into the opportunities and challenges of a key sector of Ireland’s economy, which employs almost 8,000 people, has annual revenues of €2.7 billion and a substantial economic contribution with €1.2 billion gross value added per annum.
The report was launched at Ireland’s largest cyber security industry conference, the Cyber Ireland National Conference, (CINC25) taking place in Kilkenny from 8-9 October, where more than 400 senior leaders and cyber security experts are expected to attend.
Some of the key findings and core challenges for the sector revealed in the research are as follows:
The survey also found that 89% of cyber security companies experienced an increase in the cost of doing business, with 82% expecting the cost of doing business to increase in the next 12 months.
The majority (80%) of cyber security firms were hiring or planned to hire over the next 12 months, despite the ongoing skill shortage. The hardest roles to fill for companies were security architects, governance risk and compliance (GRC), followed by cloud security.
Fianlly, just over a quarter (28%) of cyber security companies had fully integrated AI in their operations, with another 33% having partial implementation in specific areas.
Eoin Byrne, cluster manager, Cyber Ireland said: “The cyber security industry is critical to providing national cyber resilience, underpinning the growth of our digital economy, but also as a key economic sector in its own right. We must invest in developing our cyber security sector, through scaling Irish cyber security companies and ensuring we remain a competitive and attractive location for multi-national cyber security operations. Establishing a National Cybersecurity Research and Innovation Centre must be a priority to realise our potential to be a cyber leader in Europe.”
Brian Honan, Cyber Ireland chairperson and CEO of BH Consulting, said: “The cyber security threats we face impact all organisations and don’t stop at borders. That’s why Cyber Ireland is built on public-private partnerships bringing together industry, education, research, and government. We’re also working on an All-Island basis with partners in Northern Ireland, and right across Europe to improve cybersecurity through collaboration, developing skills and innovation.”
Ireland’s leading cyber security start-ups will be exhibiting at the conference, supported by Enterprise Ireland. The conference will host a European cyber security event, ECSO Cyber Solution Days, where security leaders from all over Europe convene to see pitches from selected Irish and European companies on their innovative solutions relating to identity and access management and cloud security.
Established in 2019 by industry, Munster Technological University and government, Cyber Ireland is the national cyber security cluster organisation. The cluster brings together over 220 companies and organisations across the cyber security sector nationwide, supporting collaboration, workforce development and innovation to position Ireland as a leading location for cyber security in Europe.
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