Estimated reading time: 10 minutes
A landmark benchmark study on cybersecurity staffing reveals a workforce under serious pressure. IANS Research and Artico Search surveyed 515 security professionals across all role levels. The 2026 Cybersecurity Talent Report covers compensation, role responsibilities, education, and retention. The findings carry direct implications for how organizations assess and price cyber risk.
The survey ran from mid-2025 to the end of the year and included major industries and various types of organizations.
Cybersecurity Staff Pay Ranges Vary Widely Across Roles
Pay for cybersecurity jobs varies a lot by position. Security analysts earn a median of $113,000, with the top 10% making $187,000. Security architects have a median salary of $188,000, and the top 10% earn $260,000. Department heads in areas like SecOps and GRC have a median pay of $256,000, with top earners reaching $380,000.
Deputy CISOs have the biggest pay range in the study. Their median salary is $240,000, but the top 10% earn as much as $419,000, almost double the median. This wide range shows that organizations see and value this role very differently.
Salary is just one part of the picture. Over half of senior security leaders at public and private equity-backed companies got equity payouts last year, usually between $51,000 and $75,000. About a third of middle managers and staff also received equity, usually worth $11,000 to $25,000.
Company Size, Sector, And Location Drive Pay Premiums
Where someone works matters as much as their job title when it comes to pay. Public companies pay 14% to 24% more than the median, depending on the role. Government jobs pay 19% to 25% less. The difference between the highest and lowest pay can be as much as 49 percentage points.
Company size also affects pay. Organizations making over $5 billion pay 18% to 20% more than average. Companies with less than $100 million in revenue pay 20% to 21% less. Location matters too. West Coast professionals earn 22% to 25% more, while those in the central region earn 11% to 14% less.
Education and experience make these pay gaps even bigger. Having a master’s or PhD adds a 10% to 12% pay boost. More than eight years of experience adds 4% to 15%. A senior employee at a big public company in the West with an advanced degree can earn much more than the median, while someone in a government job in the central region early in their career can earn much less.
Pay Increases Slowed To Four Percent
Pay raises slowed down last year. The average increase was 4.0%, down from 4.7% the year before. This matches slower inflation and a weaker tech job market. Most people got small raises of 1% to 3%. Only 15% got raises of 6% or more, and 13% got no raise at all.
CyberSecurity Staff Stretched Across Multiple Functions
Cybersecurity teams now need to cover many areas at once. The report shows that 69% of analysts, 75% of architects, and 65% of engineers work in more than one security function at the same time. Analysts mostly handle GRC and security operations. Architects work across architecture, engineering, IAM, SecOps, and GRC. Engineers focus on architecture, engineering, SecOps, and IAM.
Application security and testing are the most common tasks shared across roles. More than half of analysts, architects, and engineers do this work every day. “As automation and AI allow security workers to gain efficiencies, companies seek broad skill sets rather than significant depth in one area,” said Matt Comyns, co-founder and president of Artico Search.
Having team members cover many areas at once can increase risk. If everyone is responsible for four domains, there is a higher chance of missing something important.
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Staff Credentials Matter But So Do Soft Skills
People working in cybersecurity are highly educated. Almost half of those surveyed have a bachelor’s degree, and over a third have a master’s or doctorate. About 70% have more than eight years of experience in information security. Senior leaders and managers are the most likely to have advanced degrees and lots of experience.
Almost everyone in the field has at least one industry certification—about 80% of those surveyed. But the impact on careers is mixed. Only 18% say certifications made a big difference for them. CISSP is seen as the most valuable, mentioned by 62% of those who wrote in. CISM and Security+ are less common. Steve Martano of IANS Faculty pointed out that communication skills and the ability to lead programs matter more than just having credentials.
Two-Thirds Of The Workforce Considers Leaving
Retention is a big issue. Only 34% of cybersecurity professionals plan to stay in their jobs, while 43% are thinking about leaving in the next year. For senior leaders, that number goes up to 46%. High turnover is a serious problem for the industry.
The data shows three main reasons people are happy at work: chances to move up, being satisfied with pay, and having a good work-life balance. All three are linked to whether someone wants to stay. Actual salary, work location, and skill level do not have a big impact on retention.
The message for organizations is clear. If a well-paid employee does not see raises or chances to grow, they will leave. Someone with lower pay but clear opportunities and support is more likely to stay.
Wage Growth Matters More Than Wage Level
The report finds that only 31% of employees with no raise are happy with their pay. A small raise of 1% to 3% boosts satisfaction to 47%. Only 18% of people with no raise plan to stay, but 42% of those who get a 4% to 5% raise want to remain. This shows a clear link between pay increases and retention.
For CFOs and boards, this data changes how they should think about costs. Giving a security professional a reasonable raise is much cheaper than hiring and training someone new. This helps leaders make better decisions about keeping staff and using resources.
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Culture And Flexibility Are Retention Levers
Two other things affect retention besides pay. Company culture around security is very important. When staff see security as a core value supported by everyone, 73% are happy with their career growth. If they feel the company does not support security, only 19% are satisfied.
Work arrangements also matter. People who work in a hybrid setup with one or two days in the office each week are the most satisfied with their work-life balance 82% say they are happy. Only 57% of fully on-site workers feel the same. By supporting hybrid work, CISOs can help keep employees happy and reduce turnover.
What Cybersecurity Staffing Means For Cyber Risk
The 2026 cybersecurity staffing data is about risk as much as talent. CISOs are dealing with flat budgets, more complex threats, and teams where most people think about leaving each year. The report says that not having enough staff increases workloads, lowers morale, and makes quality control failures more likely. When security teams are stretched thin, controls get weaker and breaches become more likely.
For underwriters and brokers, this data offers a new way to view executive risk. Teams that are stretched too thin, paid less than the market, have high turnover, and lack executive support are much riskier than stable, well-paid teams with strong leadership backing. The 2026 Cybersecurity Talent Report gives leaders the benchmarks they need to ask the right questions.
FAQ Cybersecurity Staffing Survey
Q: What does this report tell us about the state of cybersecurity staffing right now?
A: The 2026 IANS and Artico Cybersecurity Talent Report surveyed 515 security professionals. It finds widespread retention risk, wide pay variation by company type and geography, and a workforce stretched across multiple functions simultaneously. Only 34% of security professionals plan to stay with their current employer. The data signals a workforce under structural pressure.
Q: How much do cybersecurity professionals actually earn?
A: Pay varies sharply by role. Security analysts earn a median of $113,000 annually. Security architects earn $188,000 at the median. Functional department leaders sit at $256,000. Deputy CISOs show the widest range: median of $240,000, rising to $419,000 at the top 10%. Equity distributions add further value at public and PE-backed companies, particularly at the senior level.
Q: Does our company type affect what we need to pay security staff?
A: Significantly. Publicly listed companies pay 14% to 24% above median compensation. Government organisations pay 19% to 25% below median. That gap reaches 49 percentage points between the two extremes. Company size also drives variation: firms above $5 billion in revenue pay 18% to 20% above the mean. Smaller firms pay below it.
Q: We froze salaries this year. What does the data say about the retention risk?
A: The risk is high. Just 18% of staff with flat wages plan to stay with their current employer. That figure rises to 42% among those who received a 4% to 5% increase. The report shows a 20-point satisfaction gap between staff with stagnant pay and those who received any raise at all. Wage progression, not absolute pay level, drives retention intent.
Q: Is this a problem only large companies face, or does it affect mid-market firms too?
A: The retention data applies across the sample. Turnover intent runs at 43% overall. It holds across functional staff, middle management, and senior leadership. Smaller firms actually offer slightly higher pay increases than larger ones, but they start from a lower base and face the same broad workforce dissatisfaction as their larger peers.
Q: Does losing security staff create a measurable increase in cyber risk?
A: The report draws a direct line. More than half of CISOs in a parallel study report active staffing shortages. Shortages increase workload for remaining staff, reduce morale, and raise the risk of quality assurance failures in security operations. The report explicitly links weakened team capacity to weakened defences. High turnover intent compounds that risk continuously.
Q: What actually drives security staff to stay or leave — beyond pay?
A: Three factors show strong correlation with job satisfaction and retention: perceived career progression, satisfaction with compensation trajectory, and work-life balance. Actual salary level shows no meaningful correlation with satisfaction. Neither does seniority level or work location. How employees feel about their growth and recognition matters more than what they currently earn.
Q: Should we require security staff to come back to the office?
A: The data favours flexibility. Staff working on site one to two days per week report the highest work-life balance satisfaction at 82%. Fully on-site workers report satisfaction of 57%. Artico Search’s Matt Comyns notes that many cybersecurity candidates will simply decline roles requiring more than one to two office days per week, narrowing the available talent pool.
Q: Do certifications like CISSP justify premium pay for security hires?
A: The evidence is mixed. Nearly 80% of security professionals hold certifications. Only 18% say their credentials significantly advanced their career. CISSP leads as the most impactful, but soft skills and the ability to communicate across business functions carry more weight in practice. Certifications signal professional development but do not reliably predict performance or justify premium compensation on their own.
Q: Could cybersecurity staffing quality become a factor in our cyber insurance underwriting?
A: The data provides a strong basis for it. Underwriters increasingly evaluate security control effectiveness. A security team with high turnover, below-market pay for its sector, and broad role sprawl presents different risk characteristics than a stable, well-resourced team. The 2026 benchmark data gives insurers, brokers, and risk managers the compensation and retention benchmarks needed to ask more precise questions at renewal.
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