ECSF – European Cybersecurity Skills Framework
Concluding a small series of materials about competency models in information security, one cannot help but talk about the youngest and most compact of them – ECSF, first presented at the 1st ENISA Cyber Security Skills Conference in September 2022. The ECSF summarizes cybersecurity roles into 12 profiles that, based on responsibilities, skills, interactions, and interdependencies, provide a common understanding of the competencies, skills, and knowledge required in cybersecurity and support the development of training programs.
The stated goals of creating the system are:
Ensure common terminology and the same understanding of demand (vacancies, recruitment) and supply (upskilling, training) for cybersecurity skills in the EU.
Help employers identify the critical skillsets needed and help schools develop them.
Identify key professional roles in cybersecurity and the skills required for them, including behavioral ones. Help HR learn about resource planning, recruiting, and career planning requirements in cybersecurity.
promote the harmonization of education, training and personnel development in the field of cybersecurity.
help strengthen cyber defenses and secure IT systems and provide guidance on building the capacity of cybersecurity professionals.
The entire model is presented in two documents (currently unavailable from the Russian Federation):
Role profiles — a list of 12 typical cybersecurity roles with their titles, missions, tasks, skills and knowledge.
User guide provides practical examples of how to use and benefit from the model as an employer, school or learner.
Here I want to introduce to your attention translation of ECSF into Russian.
The 5-level European IT competency system was chosen as the qualification scale eCF.
The eCF in this case is a link between employers and educational institutions, which compare training programs with it. Since the regulatory document (EN16234-1:2019) describing eCF is distributed on a fee basis, it comes to the rescue again SFIAin which all skills and levels are described in detail and are publicly available.
We have already mentioned the advantages of ECSF. But it does not cover all the roles and tasks described in other models such as NICE or SFIA, and may not be suitable for those working outside the EU. The adoption of the ECSF in EU countries is not without difficulties:
Harmonization: Aligning different cybersecurity education and training systems in EU member states with the ECSF can be difficult.
Awareness and Commitment: Stakeholders may not be sufficiently aware or understand the ECSF, which may hinder its adoption.
Allocation of resources: Implementation of the ECSF requires resources, including funding and personnel, which may not be available in all countries.
Cultural Differences: Different countries may have different approaches to cybersecurity, influenced by cultural and regulatory differences.
Language barriers: To be effectively implemented in the EU, the ECSF must be available in European languages.
Rapidly Changing Cyber Threat Landscape: ECSF must continually evolve to keep pace with the evolving nature of cyber threats, which can be challenging to manage.
These challenges require coordinated efforts between EU countries, educational institutions, industry partners and policymakers to ensure the successful implementation of the ECSF.
The ECSF is designed to be a flexible tool that can adapt to the changing landscape of cybersecurity roles. Organizations are encouraged to use it as a starting point and modify the model as needed to suit their specific requirements.
My personal opinion is that ECSF is ideal for career guidance: to better understand professions, consider what specialists are needed to solve cybersecurity problems in the company management cycle:
This will allow you to find out who is doing what and more consciously choose a career path, as well as assess what knowledge and skills will be required for this.
