
Identify
Agree
Introduce
a more manageable subset of core abilities for each key profession in the Cyber Security Domain
STRATEGICALLY SUPPORTED BY
Background

This shortage can be further analysed into two concurrent issues: a quantitative one and a qualitative one. The CSSS quantitative issue is related to the insufficient supply of cybersecurity professionals to meet the requirements of the job market and the CSSS qualitative one is related to the inadequacy of professional skills to meet the market’s needs.
The cybersecurity education system suffers of the inability to date to attract more students to study cybersecurity and to produce graduates with the right cybersecurity knowledge and skills. No doubt, many of the current issues in cybersecurity education could be ameliorated by redesigning educational and training pathways that define knowledge and skills that students should possess upon graduation and after entering the labour market.
Top 10 Abilities Project aims to offer expert contributions towards such ingenuity
Top 10 Abilities Project aims to offer expert contributions towards such ingenuity
Top 10 Abilities
Initiative
Top 10 Abilities (Top10A) aims to provide a quick win and immediate answers to employers who try to understand if a specific person can do a specific job.
Rather than focusing on the required competencies required for such a job, the emphasis is put on observable abilities which can be assessed through realistic scenarios, which simulate typical job-specific tasks.
Objectives
- Define a list of top 10 abilities for different security job roles
- Define a list of recommended realistic scenarios, which can be used to assess those abilities.

How do we ensure that existing pathways to a career in cyber security are easily accessible for all?
Activities
- Engagement with ECSO members and the wider community of security professionals, employers, HR professionals etc. to identify top 10 abilities for each job role. This activity shall be executed through outreach communications, workshops, questionnaires and interviews, case studies, pilots etc
- Engagement with ECSO members including cyber range vendors, training providers for the definition of real-life scenarios, which can be used to assess the top 10 abilities
- It is anticipated that Top 10 Abilities will also be able to provide interested Universities with a shared baseline to define and promote a core vocationally-oriented “Cyber Security Education in Europe” curriculum, which ECOS WG5 can work with.