AI is accelerating both cyber offense and defense, and that shift is exposing serious gaps in how future defenders are trained. Global estimates point to a shortfall of several million cybersecurity professionals, even as automation and AI-driven tools expand the attack surface with new vulnerabilities and faster, more targeted attacks. Traditional training that focuses mainly on tools or narrow technical skills is no longer enough. Future defenders need a blend of strong fundamentals in areas like secure architecture, threat modeling, and incident response, combined with the ability to understand and work alongside AI systems rather than treat them as black boxes. They also need to recognize how AI changes the threat landscape, from automated phishing and deepfakes to AI-enhanced malware and large-scale reconnaissance.

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At the same time, organizations are realizing that soft skills are just as critical as technical depth. Defenders must be able to communicate risk to executives, collaborate across IT, OT, legal and operations teams, and make decisions under pressure with incomplete information. Training programs that mirror real-world conditions—hands-on labs, red/blue team exercises, and scenarios that include AI-enabled threats—are highlighted as essential for building this resilience. Partnerships between industry, governments and educational institutions are presented as a path to scale up these modernized training approaches, ensuring that the next generation of cybersecurity professionals can combine human judgment, ethical awareness and creativity with the analytical power of AI to protect increasingly complex digital and physical systems.

Source: https://industrialcyber.co/reports/as-ai-redraws-threat-landscape-cybersecurity-training-faces-reality-check-on-what-future-defenders-truly-need/