https://garzoncybersolutions.com/insights.html Talent briefings from Garzon Cyber Solutions. Threat briefings and market analysis from Garzon Cyber Solutions. Cyber security incidents, regulatory change and what both mean commercially for organisations operating in the UK, the EU and the Americas. en-gb Garzon Cyber Solutions jonathan@garzoncybersolutions.com (Jonathan Garzon) jonathan@garzoncybersolutions.com (Jonathan Garzon) Fri, 09 Oct 2026 05:27:01 +0000 Thu, 24 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0100 GCS RSS generator https://garzoncybersolutions.com/gcs_talent_briefing_assuranceline/ https://garzoncybersolutions.com/gcs_talent_briefing_assuranceline/ Most people entering cyber security search on job titles, and the titles do not describe the work. DSIT's analysis of UK core cyber postings placed during 2024 names auditing as a required skill in 19% of adverts, yet security or IT auditor accounts for just 3% of titled postings. The governance work is advertised under titles that never name it, and the pay follows the title rather than the requirement. This briefing sets out the Assurance Line, a four-part test of Gate, Signature, Scarcity and Transfer that a practitioner can score any role against, held or offered. Thu, 24 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0100 GCS Talent Briefing Jonathan Garzon https://garzoncybersolutions.com/gcs_talent_briefing_noticeperiod/ https://garzoncybersolutions.com/gcs_talent_briefing_noticeperiod/ Just 34% of security professionals plan to stay with their current employer, and the factor most closely tied to how they feel about the job is not salary. It is whether they believe the organisation treats security as a priority. UK boards say it is: 72% of businesses call cyber a high priority, yet only 31% have a named board owner. We set out the commercial exposure of a security departure and the Priority Test: Access, Allocation, Advancement and Attribution. Tue, 22 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0100 GCS Talent Briefing Jonathan Garzon https://garzoncybersolutions.com/gcs_talent_briefing_evidenceladder/ https://garzoncybersolutions.com/gcs_talent_briefing_evidenceladder/ Some 81% of UK core cyber job postings set a bachelor's degree as the minimum, and 63% ask for two to six years of experience. Asked directly what they would accept in an early-career hire, 90% of hiring managers said prior IT work alone would do, 89% said an entry-level certification alone, and only 81% said a degree alone. The academic qualification the adverts insist on finished last of the three. The Evidence Ladder sets out where a practitioner should actually spend their effort: Stated, Shown, Tested, Vouched. Thu, 17 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0100 GCS Talent Briefing Jonathan Garzon https://garzoncybersolutions.com/gcs_talent_briefing_keptrate/ https://garzoncybersolutions.com/gcs_talent_briefing_keptrate/ IT Jobs Watch puts the median advertised contract rate for a cyber security analyst at 575 pounds a day, up 17.35% on last year, while the median permanent salary fell 7.41% to 50,000 pounds. The gap looks like arbitrage and is not. Finance Act 2026 changed the machinery underneath contracting in April, and the Kept Rate is the number that decides whether the move is worth making. Sun, 13 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0100 GCS Talent Briefing Jonathan Garzon https://garzoncybersolutions.com/gcs_talent_briefing_designline/ https://garzoncybersolutions.com/gcs_talent_briefing_designline/ Hays puts the average UK technology salary increase for 2026 at 1.1%. Four of the ten fastest-rising roles carry the word architect in the title. Why the premium concentrated on the design side of security work, and the four tests that place any career on one side of the line. Thu, 03 Sep 2026 09:00:00 +0100 GCS Talent Briefing Jonathan Garzon https://garzoncybersolutions.com/gcs_talent_briefing_onepersondeep/ https://garzoncybersolutions.com/gcs_talent_briefing_onepersondeep/ UK cyber hiring has swung towards the employer, yet teams have become smaller and regulation has begun to name individuals rather than departments. Why depth, rather than headcount, is the exposure a board should be measuring, and the Depth Map that expresses it as a number. Tue, 25 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0100 GCS Talent Briefing Jonathan Garzon https://garzoncybersolutions.com/gcs_talent_briefing_fullystaffed/ https://garzoncybersolutions.com/gcs_talent_briefing_fullystaffed/ Some 95% of security teams report a skills gap and 59% now call it critical, up from 44%. The UK headcount shortfall is falling while capability is not keeping pace. Why the vacancy count has stopped being the number that matters, and the four tests that replace it. Tue, 18 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0100 GCS Talent Briefing Jonathan Garzon https://garzoncybersolutions.com/gcs_talent_briefing_proofstack/ https://garzoncybersolutions.com/gcs_talent_briefing_proofstack/ The UK cyber workforce gap has closed by two thirds in three years and the wage premium collapsed with it. For practitioners that is not bad news, it is a different game. A three-layer framework for building the evidence the market now prices. Thu, 06 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0100 GCS Talent Briefing Jonathan Garzon https://garzoncybersolutions.com/gcs_insight_fewer_roles_same_risk/ https://garzoncybersolutions.com/gcs_insight_fewer_roles_same_risk/ UK core cyber job postings fell 33% in a single year while 49% of businesses still report a basic skills gap and 88% suffered a real security consequence because of it. The exposure did not disappear. It moved off the payroll and into the control environment, where it is far harder to see, and far more expensive when it surfaces. Tue, 04 Aug 2026 09:00:00 +0100 GCS Talent Briefing Jonathan Garzon https://garzoncybersolutions.com/closing-the-talent-gap/ https://garzoncybersolutions.com/closing-the-talent-gap/ 85% of employers prefer upskilling over external hiring. 52% of UK businesses already outsource security operations. ENISA says NIS2 compliance is structurally impossible through human capital alone. Tue, 21 Apr 2026 09:00:00 +0100 Talent & Recruitment Jonathan Garzon