McAfee Finds That Gamers Are Strong Candidates for Cybersecurity Jobs (venturebeat.com)

To beat cybercriminals, McAfee suggests in a new report that gamers may be the key candidates for cybersecurity jobs. From a report: The Santa Clara, California-based cybersecurity company said it did a survey of 300 senior security managers and 650 security professionals at major corporations. And 78 percent of respondents said that the current generation entering the work force -- those that grew up playing video games -- are stronger candidates for cybersecurity roles. The report suggests that gamers, those engaged and immersed in online competitions, may be the logical next step to plugging the skills gap.

92 percent of respondents believe that gaming affords players experience and skills critical to cybersecurity threat hunting: logic, perseverance, an understanding of how to approach adversaries and a fresh outlook compared to traditional cybersecurity hires. Three-quarters of senior managers say they would consider hiring a gamer even if that person had no specific cybersecurity training or experience. 72 percent of respondents say hiring experienced video gamers into the IT department seems like a good way to plug the cybersecurity skills gap.

Comments

Oh No!

[LifesABeach]

Equifax has a job opening for a Music Major to manage their computer security

Speaking as someone who has hired them...

[Minupla]

90% of my interview candidates can't articulate the difference between public key and symmetric encryption. I'd probably hire them if they could play Zork, and knew the difference between the two.

Re:Speaking as someone who has hired them...

[gravewax]

if you couldn't answer such a basic question without google you should be instantly disqualified from ANY security role as well as many non security based roles too. Such levels of ignorance are a sure sign that you really don't have a good base knowledge to work in IT.

Re:Gamers == Optimizers

[DigiShaman]

"Doing" is not the same as "understanding". Gaming requires repetition, consistency, and often per-mutative testing and isolation to meet the goal most efficiently. But that's not at all the same and understanding how it all works in abstracts. Honestly, you'd be far better served hiring an automotive mechanic than a gamer for cyber security. At the mechanic has the foundational knowledge for troubleshooting and isolation.

When You Jump On The Door You Glitch Into The Wall

[dryriver]

Isn't that precisely how cybersecurity works as well? Good hiring strategy!

Re:Gamers == Optimizers

[subanark]

The summary calls out that they mean competitive gamers. I'd imagine that Hearth Stone and League of Legends are primary candidates for this. The first being more strategy focused, while the later has a team element to it.

Managers, meet HR

[magarity]

Three-quarters of senior managers say they would consider hiring a gamer even if that person had no specific cybersecurity training or experience

Except those people's resumes never make it past the HR filter because they don't list any specific training or experience.

Re:Managers, meet HR

[Corbets]

Three-quarters of senior managers say they would consider hiring a gamer even if that person had no specific cybersecurity training or experience

Except those people's resumes never make it past the HR filter because they don't list any specific training or experience.

I get kind of tired of such comments. As a hiring manager in cyber security at two different companies over the past decade, I can tell you that HR doesn’t decide who gets in; I do. If I want them to filter based on certain keywords, they will. If I don’t say that, they won’t. If they have any doubts, then the CV winds up in my inbox, because finding qualified cyber candidates is *hard*. So quit blaming HR - it’s my choice to reject your ill-designed and poorly-communicated CV, and they’re just the messenger.

That said, I guess the difficulty in finding qualified cyber candidates has a lot to do with why the interviewees answered the way they did in this article (naturally, I didn’t read more than the summary - I’m a manager, after all - and yes, that was tongue-in-cheek!). I’ll take people with any background as an entry level hire if they show aptitude and intelligence. One of my better hires was a poli sci major...

People SAID it, doesn't mean it's true

[wonkey_monkey]

And 78 percent of respondents said that the current generation entering the work force -- those that grew up playing video games -- are stronger candidates for cybersecurity roles.

Firstly, what respondents say isn't necessarily the objective truth. Secondly, just who are they stronger than? It should be bleedin' obvious that just on average you'd expect gamers to be stronger candidates than the average person in the street, simply by dint of probably knowing a bit more about computers.

Mcafee says this

[grasshoppa]

It's worth pointing out that Mcafee, a supposed "security company" who no competent security professional would rely upon, said this.

It does explain a lot, now that I think of it.

We've seen this before...

[ewhenn]

Former Equifax “Chief Security Officer” Susan Mauldin has a bachelor’s degree and a master of fine arts degree in music composition from the University of Georgia. Look where "no expertise" got them (and us). Hey, let's hire butchers to be surgeons too, I mean they cut things after all, so it's sort of related!

Re:Where's my job offers then?

[Joe_Dragon]

you smoked POT and HR say NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!