The good news first: The European cybersecurity market was valued at €28.05 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach €53.52 billion by 2027, with an average compound annual growth rate of 24.4% during the forecast period 2022-2027.
Here’s some even better news: there are multiple cities and regions across Europe where a cybersecurity professional can locate — or relocate — to nurture a flourishing career in this rapidly growing sector. As we accelerate our cloud adoption and do more of our banking and shopping online, the potential for malicious actors to access our data increases; therefore the need for qualified, talented cybersecurity professionals increases exponentially too.
Legislation, such as the European Cybersecurity Act and GDPR, have also raised demand for security professionals across the bloc, as has the rise in cyberattacks against businesses. Depending on where you’d like to work, salaries can be high. For example, Luxembourg has the highest average pay for cybersecurity professionals at more than €112,000 per annum.
Thanks to its firm foundations in banking, Switzerland has a high demand for cybersecurity workers and Estonia is another leader in cybersecurity employment due to strong government support for the sector. Additionally, NATO has established its Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence in the capital city of Tallinn.
To discover the continent’s leader, the United Nations Global Cyber Security Index offers sharp-eyed insight thanks to a deep dive into each country’s strengths and weaknesses. Nations are judged on their legal structures, technical capabilities, organizational powers, capacity building and co-operation. In Europe, it’s the UK which comes out on top with London being the leading cybersecurity city.
London’s longterm history in financial services has more recently transformed into an expertise in fintech. It’s now home to a burgeoning ecosystem of challenger banks, blockchain startups, and at least 26 fintech unicorns, which include Checkout.com, Monzo, OakNorth Bank, SaltPay, and SumUp. With regulation and security top of mind, cybersecurity is baked-in.
There are many reasons why London is such a hub for cybersecurity roles. Strong political support exists for the fintech industry in terms of 2021’s government-commissioned Kalifa Review, which identified several hubs of activity across the UK and also put in place a number of recommendations to support the sector.
On a national level, the UK is also on an upwards trajectory from its pioneering National Cyber Security Strategy of 2016, with the creation of a National Cyber Force in 2021 and a redeveloped plan for 2022 to ensure that it can continue to adapt, innovate, and invest.
Additionally, it’s home to a number of defense companies such as BAE Systems, Thales, Lockheed Martin Corporation, and Northrop Grumman, as well as its own cyberstars, such as Darktrace and Becrypt. All of these companies have leading requirements for cybersecurity professionals.
Open roles are one thing, but they need to be supported by a talent pipeline. That’s assured here too thanks to the UK’s wealth of higher education institutions offering Bachelor’s and Master’s courses. They include an MSc in Information Security at Royal Holloway. This course has been accredited by GCHQ, the intelligence and security organization responsible for providing intelligence to the government and armed forces.
Nearby Cambridge has a cybersecurity program and King’s College London has a fully-online Global Security course that can be taken as a Master’s, postgraduate diploma, or postgraduate certificate.
For those already working in the industry, networking opportunities abound. London is a global destination and transport hub making it a great place to live and work. Industry conferences and events that happen here include UK Sec, where cybersecurity leadership gathers annually to discuss challenges and trends. FMLS is the biggest fintech event in the city, attracting thousands of attendees, all of whom network and learn from companies and key decision makers in multiple industry verticals.
If you’d like to explore a career in cybersecurity in one of Europe’s most vibrant cities, then we’re taking a look at three open roles below. And there are plenty more to discover on The House of Talent Job Board too.
CyberSecurity Detection Engineer, Avertium, Remote
Avertium’s cyber threat intelligence team is seeking a Cybersecurity Detection Engineer to create custom detection rulesets and other content for a variety of security platforms, including SIEM, EDR, SOAR, etc. You should have a strong understanding of search query languages and log parsing strategies, as well as experience creating custom content for at least one security platform. You’ll need proven experience in a similar role, experience developing custom detection content for at least one security platform and experience with Open Source software with varying levels of documentation. Get the full job spec here.
Internal Controls Senior, Exclusive Networks Limited, London
Exclusive Networks is a global trusted cybersecurity specialist for digital infrastructure. Its distinctive approach to cybersecurity gives partners more opportunity and more customer relevance and, as the Internal Controls Senior, you’ll be proactive and work on enterprise-wide initiatives, in a highly diverse and international environment, with regular interactions with management at all levels. You’ll continuously monitor and adapt internal control frameworks; participate in the update of group policies and procedures, and process flowcharts and risk monitoring matrices. Get more on the role here.
Resilience & Business Continuity Consultant, BCT Resourcing, London
You’ll join a reputation, crisis, and resilience team as a Resilience & Business Continuity Consultant to assist in supporting clients’ needs in planning, building resilience, preparing for events and incidents. You’ll work on contingency planning for a range of high impact events, such as a catastrophic cyberattack, and you’ll design and implement a large-scale resilience transformation program to meet regulatory, government, and societal expectations across a number of different sectors. You’ll need to have experience with operational readiness programs for major events and change initiatives, and knowledge of crisis and incident framework design. Find out more.
Browse all companies currently hiring across Europe on The House of Talent Job Board