Cybersecurity Jobs in India surge 225% in last 12 months

India’s cybersecurity sector is attracting sharply more attention from jobseekers, with interest in four major cybersecurity roles rising between 175% and 225% over the latest 12-month period, according to Indeed data. Security Operations Centre (SOC) Analyst positions recorded the biggest increase, with jobseeker interest rising 225%, followed by Privacy/Data Protection at 189%, Security Engineer at 176% and Cybersecurity Analyst at 175%.

The surge, however, does not mean cybersecurity vacancies are increasing at the same rate. Indeed’s data shows employer posting activity has been considerably more mixed, with Privacy/Data Protection postings rising 18% and Cybersecurity Analyst postings increasing 9%, while Security Engineer and SOC Analyst postings declined by about 1% and 8%, respectively. The gap highlights an important feature of India’s cybersecurity jobs market: more people want to enter the field, but employers are increasingly looking for specific technical and practical skills.

Key takeaways

• Jobseeker interest in SOC Analyst roles rose 225% over the latest 12-month period.
• Privacy/Data Protection interest increased 189%.
• Security Engineer and Cybersecurity Analyst interest climbed 176% and 175%, respectively.
• Employer job postings did not rise at the same pace across these roles.
• Firewall, ISO 27001, SIEM, Network Security and Vulnerability Assessment were among the most frequently appearing skills in cybersecurity job postings.
• India’s broader cybersecurity market continues to face a talent shortage, particularly for specialised and experienced professionals.
• AI, cloud computing and digital commerce are expanding the security requirements businesses need to address.
• The data suggests that learning the right cybersecurity skills may be more important than simply pursuing a generic cybersecurity qualification.

SOC Analyst interest leads the surge

SOC Analyst roles saw the largest increase in jobseeker engagement, with clicks on relevant job postings increasing 225% compared with the preceding 12-month period.

A SOC is a Security Operations Centre, where cybersecurity teams monitor an organisation’s systems and networks for suspicious activity. SOC analysts are typically involved in monitoring alerts, investigating potential incidents, escalating threats and helping security teams respond to attacks.

The sharp rise in interest suggests that the role has become one of the most visible entry points into cybersecurity for people looking to build a career in the field.

However, there is an important distinction between interest in a job and availability of jobs.

Indeed’s data shows that while clicks on SOC Analyst postings jumped 225%, employer postings for the role actually declined by around 8%.

That means the number of people competing for these opportunities may be increasing faster than the number of available openings.

For aspiring cybersecurity professionals, this makes practical skills particularly important.

Privacy and data protection see stronger employer demand

Privacy and Data Protection roles present a different picture.

Jobseeker interest in these positions increased 189%, while employer job postings rose 18%.

This combination indicates that both sides of the market are moving in the same direction, although employer demand is still growing much more slowly than jobseeker interest.

The expansion of data-protection requirements is one factor supporting this category.

Companies increasingly need to understand what information they collect, where it is stored, who can access it and how it is protected. Data privacy therefore increasingly overlaps with cybersecurity, compliance, governance and risk management.

For professionals, this creates a pathway that is different from purely technical security operations.

Someone working in privacy or security compliance may spend more time dealing with policies, risk assessments, audits, regulations and organisational controls than with analysing network alerts.

Security Engineer interest rises 176%

Security Engineer roles recorded a 176% increase in jobseeker interest.

These roles typically sit further toward the technical end of cybersecurity and can involve designing, implementing and maintaining security controls across networks, infrastructure, cloud environments and applications.

Yet employer postings for Security Engineer positions declined by about 1% during the period measured by Indeed.

This is another example of why the headline 175%-225% increases should not be interpreted as equivalent increases in hiring.

A growing number of candidates may be entering the market while employers remain selective about the experience and capabilities they require.

This can make the field more competitive for candidates who possess only basic theoretical knowledge.

Cybersecurity Analyst interest rises 175%

Cybersecurity Analyst roles saw jobseeker interest increase 175%.

Cybersecurity analysts can work across several functions, including threat monitoring, vulnerability assessment, incident investigation, security controls and risk analysis.

Employer postings for the category increased 9%, giving it a more positive demand picture than Security Engineer and SOC Analyst roles.

The difference is relatively small compared with the increase in jobseeker interest, but it still indicates that the supply of candidates could be expanding faster than available openings.

For employers, that may provide a larger candidate pool. For jobseekers, it reinforces the need to demonstrate skills rather than simply list cybersecurity as an area of interest.

The cybersecurity skills employers are looking for

Indeed’s analysis also provides insight into the technical skills appearing frequently in cybersecurity job postings.

Skill	Share of relevant job postings
Firewall	19.6%
ISO 27001	17.5%
SIEM	15.2%
Network Security	12.0%
Vulnerability Assessment	11.6%

Firewall knowledge appeared in 19.6% of relevant postings, making it the most frequently appearing skill among those highlighted by Indeed. ISO 27001 appeared in 17.5%, followed by SIEM at 15.2%, Network Security at 12% and Vulnerability Assessment at 11.6%.

These skills cover several different parts of cybersecurity.

A firewall controls or filters network traffic according to security rules. SIEM, or Security Information and Event Management, brings together security logs and alerts to help teams identify suspicious behaviour. Vulnerability assessment involves identifying weaknesses in systems that attackers could potentially exploit.

ISO 27001 is different again. It is an international standard for information security management systems and is particularly relevant to governance, risk and compliance functions.

The mix shows that cybersecurity careers are not limited to hacking or penetration testing.

AI is changing the cybersecurity skills equation

The growing interest in cybersecurity is occurring at the same time that companies are deploying AI, cloud platforms and increasingly complex digital systems.

AI creates a particularly complicated cybersecurity challenge.

On one side, companies can use AI to automate security monitoring, analyse large volumes of alerts, detect unusual activity and accelerate investigations.

On the other side, AI systems themselves create new risks. Organisations need to protect AI models, training data, credentials, APIs and the infrastructure surrounding AI applications.

The Data Security Council of India and SANS Institute’s 2025-26 cybersecurity skilling study found that 83% of surveyed organisations considered AI and generative-AI security skills a critical requirement, while 78% reported high demand for AI Security Engineers. The study also found that 62% of surveyed enterprises were already running active AI or GenAI projects.

This means cybersecurity professionals increasingly need to understand more than conventional network security.

Cloud security, identity, application security, data protection and AI security are becoming interconnected.

India’s cybersecurity talent shortage remains significant

The increase in jobseeker interest comes against a backdrop of an existing cybersecurity talent shortage.

The Data Security Council of India’s study found that 73% of enterprises and 68% of cybersecurity service providers reported limited availability of skilled cybersecurity candidates. It also found that 84% of organisations took between one and six months to fill cybersecurity positions.

The problem is not simply the number of candidates.

The quality and depth of skills are also an issue.

According to the same study, 63% of enterprises and 59% of providers said job applicants lacked sufficient hands-on practical skills. More than half of enterprises and providers also reported difficulty finding professionals with cross-domain capabilities spanning cloud, applications and identity systems.

This helps explain why cybersecurity can simultaneously have rising jobseeker interest and a shortage of qualified professionals.

There may be plenty of people interested in cybersecurity while the pool of candidates capable of handling complex enterprise environments remains much smaller.

Specialised cybersecurity skills are in shorter supply

Careernet’s India Cybersecurity Talent Outlook 2026 provides another view of the market.

The report analysed India’s cybersecurity workforce across 14 skill domains and found that demand already exceeds active supply in areas including cloud and infrastructure security, application security and data security and data loss prevention.

The largest imbalances are visible in some emerging fields. Careernet identified particularly high open-to-active demand ratios in IoT and connected-device security, blockchain and Web3 security, and OT/ICS/SCADA security.

This distinction matters because the easiest cybersecurity roles to enter may not necessarily be the areas where the largest long-term shortages exist.

Entry-level SOC work can provide a pathway into cybersecurity, but professionals who eventually develop expertise in cloud security, application security, identity, AI security or industrial systems could have access to more specialised opportunities.

Cybersecurity is becoming a business function

Cybersecurity was once viewed primarily as an IT department responsibility.

That model is changing.

A successful cyberattack can affect customer data, financial systems, operations, regulatory compliance and a company’s reputation. As a result, security decisions increasingly involve business leaders and boards rather than only technical teams.

The Data Security Council of India’s September 2026 report on Cyber GCCs found that AI security had emerged as the top-priority cybersecurity skill area for Cyber Global Capability Centres in India. It also identified rising demand for cyber resilience, governance, cloud security, risk assessment and cybersecurity architecture.

Cyber GCCs are also becoming important centres for global cybersecurity work.

More than 25% of Cyber GCCs surveyed by DSCI have nearly half of their global cybersecurity workforce based in India, while 51% said their global cybersecurity teams report into India-based Cyber GCC leadership.

This potentially expands the opportunity beyond India’s domestic technology companies.

Indian cybersecurity professionals can increasingly support security operations, engineering, risk and compliance functions for global organisations from India.

Cybersecurity spending is also increasing

The hiring trend is supported by broader spending on information security.

Gartner forecasts that end-user spending on information security in India will reach $3.4 billion in 2026, an 11.7% increase from 2025.

Security services spending is expected to grow 11.1%, with managed security services forecast to be the fastest-growing services segment at 15.1%.

Managed security services can help organisations address the shortage of specialist talent by allowing external security providers to handle monitoring, detection and response.

This creates another employment pathway for cybersecurity professionals.

Instead of working directly for a bank, retailer or manufacturer, a cybersecurity professional may work for a managed security provider serving multiple clients.

What the numbers mean for someone starting a cybersecurity career

The latest Indeed numbers are encouraging for people considering cybersecurity, but they should not be interpreted as a promise of easy employment.

The strongest message from the data is that cybersecurity interest is growing faster than hiring in several popular roles.

That makes skill selection important.

A beginner should therefore avoid trying to learn every area of cybersecurity at once. A more practical foundation would include computer networking, Linux, basic scripting, authentication and identity concepts, common vulnerabilities, security monitoring and incident-response fundamentals.

From there, a learner can specialise.

Someone interested in security operations could move toward SOC analysis and SIEM. Someone who enjoys infrastructure could move toward network or cloud security. A person interested in business processes and regulations could explore GRC, privacy and ISO 27001. Those interested in programming can move toward application security and eventually security engineering.

The market is increasingly rewarding combinations of skills rather than isolated knowledge.

Why certifications alone may not be enough

Cybersecurity has a large certification ecosystem, but certificates cannot completely solve the skills gap.

The DSCI-SANS study specifically highlights the shortage of hands-on practical capabilities. That means candidates need evidence that they can actually use the concepts they have learned.

For a beginner, practical projects can include building a small home lab, analysing sample security logs, configuring a firewall, practising Linux administration, documenting vulnerabilities in deliberately vulnerable applications and learning how a SIEM works.

The objective is not to claim professional experience that the candidate does not have.

Instead, projects can demonstrate that the candidate understands how cybersecurity tools and processes work.

The bigger picture

India’s cybersecurity jobs market is entering an unusual phase in which candidate interest is accelerating while employer demand remains selective.

The 225% rise in SOC Analyst interest is the clearest example. More people are clicking on cybersecurity vacancies, but SOC Analyst postings themselves declined about 8% in Indeed’s comparison period. Privacy/Data Protection provides the opposite signal, with both jobseeker interest and employer postings increasing.

That divergence means the headline growth should be viewed as a shift in career interest rather than a 175%-225% increase in employment opportunities.

At the same time, independent talent studies show that India still has meaningful shortages of experienced and specialised cybersecurity professionals. The opportunity therefore appears strongest for people who can progress beyond basic cybersecurity knowledge into areas where organisations struggle to find capable talent.

Looking Ahead

AI, cloud computing, connected devices and digital commerce are likely to keep expanding the cybersecurity workload. The most valuable professionals will increasingly need to understand how security works across multiple technology layers rather than treating cybersecurity as a single discipline.

For Indian jobseekers, the message is therefore relatively clear: cybersecurity remains a promising career field, but the easiest path is not simply obtaining a certificate and applying for hundreds of jobs. Building practical skills in networking, Linux, security monitoring, cloud, identity, vulnerability assessment and eventually a specialised area can provide a stronger foundation for competing in a market where employer requirements are becoming more specific.

Frequently asked questions

Is cybersecurity a good career in India in 2026?
The available evidence points to strong long-term demand, but hiring varies significantly by specialisation. Cybersecurity spending is growing, specialised talent remains difficult to find and AI and cloud adoption are creating additional security requirements.

Which cybersecurity role saw the biggest increase in jobseeker interest?
SOC Analyst roles recorded the biggest increase, with jobseeker interest rising 225% over the latest 12-month period measured by Indeed.

What cybersecurity skills are employers looking for?
Among the skills frequently appearing in relevant postings were Firewall, ISO 27001, SIEM, Network Security and Vulnerability Assessment.

Does the 225% increase mean there are 225% more cybersecurity jobs?
No. The 225% figure measures jobseeker interest, based on clicks on job postings. Employer postings for SOC Analyst roles actually declined about 8% during the comparison period.

Is cybersecurity only about hacking?
No. The field includes security operations, network and cloud security, application security, identity, data protection, privacy, governance, risk and compliance, threat intelligence, AI security and industrial-control-system security.