CCP’s White Paper: Shortage of 3.27 Million Personnel in Cybersecurity in the Future Five Years

On September 6th, the CCP released a white paper titled “Real-World Cybersecurity Talent and Capabilities,” which was directed by the CCP Ministry of Education and produced in collaboration with several top technology-based universities. Some of the key participants included: Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Xi’an (西安) University of Electronic Science and Technology, Southeast University, Wuhan (武汉) University and Huazhong (华中) University of Science and Technology.

 According to the white paper, 34 universities in Communist China have made “cyberspace security” one of their highest priority subjects. It is expected that the shortage of cybersecurity talent could reach 3.27 million in the next five years, with the lack of practical experience being the most acute reason. With about 30,000 university graduates in related fields each year, it will be difficult to fill this gap in the near future. According to the analysis by legal experts, in the eyes of the Chinese Communist Party, the purpose of cyber security is twofold, internal and external. Externally, it is to target the so-called hostile Western forces and attack their networks. Internally, it is to target its domestic dissidents, such as human rights lawyers, underground religion groups, social media influencers, and so on.

 The CCP’s strategy of using cyber security both internally and externally requires strong support from the computer networking field. Now, its public warning of a huge shortage of cyber talent only confirms its ambition to try to dominate cyberspace. To control the people more effectively, not only do they need to monopolise sources of information and brainwash citizens, but also to use the power of the internet to censor and persecute any voice that deviates from the mainstream. The total number of the CCP’s cyber combat force is now equal to the combined personnel of the CCP’s military and armed police forces. The fact that it is now recruiting cyber security personnel with such fanfare also reflects the total lack of security and self-confidence of this authoritarian regime, despite the “Four Confidences” that the CCP has been endorsing.