TALKING POINT
ARE SOUTH AFRICA’ S CYBER DEFENDERS READY FOR AI?
As AI reshapes the cyber threat landscape, South Africa faces a growing cybersecurity skills gap. Eniola Lisoyi, Head: Department of Networks, Maths and Systems Engineering at Richfield, explains why practical training, continuous learning and closer industry collaboration are essential to preparing the next generation of cyber defenders.
Employers recognise these broader requirements. Research published in 2025 by the South African Graduate Employers Association found that, alongside technical literacy, employers value resilience, communication and willingness to keep learning.
Continuous learning is especially important in cybersecurity. Technologies and attack methods keep changing, so defensive skills cannot remain static. Qualifications provide a foundation, not an endpoint. Professionals must continually update their understanding of emerging threats and develop the confidence to respond effectively in complex situations.
Eniola Lisoyi, Head: Department of Networks, Maths and Systems Engineering at Richfield
South Africa’ s cybersecurity challenges are growing more complex as the country struggles to fill the roles needed to address them. A 2024 CSIR national survey found that 63 % of cybersecurity positions in South African organisations were partially or fully unfilled. More than a third of applicants had less than 25 % of the required qualifications, while only 4 % had between 75 % and 100 %.
The shortage is not simply about the number of people entering cybersecurity. It is also about whether they possess the technical knowledge and practical capabilities employers need.
This matters increasingly as AI reshapes the threat landscape through more convincing messages and sophisticated methods of breaching security. Professionals must understand both AI-enabled attacks and the AI-supported technologies used to detect and respond to them.
Beyond familiarity with tools, they need analytical thinking, curiosity, problem-solving skills and an understanding of how technology interacts with people, systems and business priorities.
In practice, cybersecurity professionals must distinguish genuine threats from false alarms, identify exposed systems and decide when to escalate incidents. Such decisions demand knowledge, judgement and experience. Without practical opportunities, graduates may understand the principles but struggle to apply them when organisations need a response.
Closer collaboration between tertiary institutions and industry is therefore essential. Work-integrated learning, internships, supervised projects and mentorships can expose students to real cybersecurity operations before full-time employment.
This relationship must work both ways. Industry can communicate the technologies, capabilities and workplace behaviours it requires, while institutions use that insight to refine curricula and learning activities. Such collaboration can help ensure graduates enter the workforce with skills that reflect current operational realities rather than relying solely on theoretical knowledge.
Practical experience need not involve live organisational systems. Virtual laboratories, controlled testing environments and simulated cyber incidents allow students to practise without putting operational infrastructure at risk. Industry-aligned micro-credentials can add specialisation alongside formal qualifications, helping students and professionals keep pace with technological change.
The ultimate goal is a continuous relationship between education and employment, rather than a handover on graduation day. Employers need emerging talent and a stronger pipeline of relevant skills. Institutions need current insight into industry requirements. Students need realistic opportunities to test and develop their knowledge.
AI is raising the stakes but also clarifying the solution. South Africa needs cybersecurity professionals who understand technology, interrogate problems, make sound decisions under pressure and keep learning as threats evolve.
Strengthening connections between tertiary education and industry will be critical. Preparing the next generation of cyber defenders requires more than teaching them to understand threats. They also need practical experience and adaptability to respond to whatever comes next. •
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