The growing profile of IT security professionals

It's slightly ironic that, as Jérôme Kerviel imminently faces trial for his infamous rogue trading scandal (as well as making juicy revelations in his new book), banks and financial services firms are accused of still being relatively lax when it comes to having adequate IT security in place.

Some of the City's banks and financial services firms are leaving themselves open to fraud or criminal attacks by failing to protect their computer networks, according to research from IT security firm MWR InfoSecurity (which admittedly has something of a vested interest in highlighting this).

Separately, though, PricewaterhouseCoopers' technology assurance partner, Chris Potter, tells us that their research shows UK companies as a whole are suffering around 10bn a year in losses as a result of poor IT security - about double the rate of two years ago. Financial services firms are particularly susceptible to attacks.

"The root cause for this is a failure to keep up with the rapidly changing use of technology within the business. People who have a deep understanding of the technology risks are at a high premium in the marketplace at the moment," he says.

Understanding the management of IT security in an inter-connected environment is key, he says - how you gain assurance from third-parties you work with, or understanding how to protect data in a cloud environment, for example.

"Increasingly, it's not just about technology skills," he adds. "It's a combination of communication, marketing and business management to ensure everyone in the organisation is doing the right thing from a security perspective."

But while this area is undoubtedly hot, it's debatable just how many jobs will be created within the organisations themselves. For a start, a lot of firms will either employ external consultants or turn to the cheaper option of a third-party software vendor.

"Comparatively speaking, information security teams are quite small - usually no more than a dozen people - and it's in their nature not to shout about their achievements," says Paul Bennie, director of financial technology recruiters Bennie MacLean.