Wanted: cutting edge IT audit skills

5 Jul 2016

IT auditors are in hot demand right now, as organisations move to mitigate the serious risks presented by savvy cyber criminals. Given the increasing intensity of cybercrime in all business sectors and South Africa's position as the #1 target for cybercrime in Africa, this skill is set to top employers' must-have lists for years to come.

Michelle Tietz

However, with new threats emerging all the time, the pressure is on graduates and professionals in this field to remain at the forefront of their sector. Here’s what you need to know.

Tech first

For a start, the focus is very much on technology. More and more employers are looking for IT auditors with solid IT experience and a good understanding of technology. Sometimes so much so, that IT candidates wanting to break into this industry are hired purely on the grounds of their tech experience, with the audit skills needed being taught on the job.

Connected to this is the growing demand for technology specialists. With data integrity and quality issues as well as IT security risks being increasingly thrust under the spotlight, employers are specifically looking for security specialists. From an audit and risk perspective, we’re seeing huge demand for specialists that concentrate on the correct monitoring and controlling of information systems.

This strong tech focus is also evident in the educational qualifications most sought after by employers, with BSc degrees ranking the highest followed by BCom degrees in Informatics and Information Systems. These are currently favoured over regular Internal Auditing degrees.

Trend savvy

Having said that, employers are desperate for candidates who keep abreast of local and international trends, and who have a thorough knowledge of prevailing market conditions, including the latest threats.

Taking this all into account, prospective employees with additional courses under their belt, such as Certified Ethical Hacking (CEH), Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC) and Global Information Assurance Certification (GIAC), are the most attractive prospects.

With cybercrime.org.za maintaining that South Africa loses more than R1 billion a year to cybercrime, there’s no doubting the importance of the IT auditor skillset. The challenge is ensuring these skills are current, relevant and ready to respond to even the most aggressive threats.