Without strong information security teams, companies risk “freezing” in development / Economic news of Krasnoyarsk and the Krasnoyarsk Territory / Newslab.Ru

Russian business Today we are faced with an increase in cyber threats: attacks are becoming more complex, attackers are using artificial intelligence, and the requirements for infrastructure resilience are increasing.

The key limitation in this situation is not technology, but shortage of qualified specialistssaid Deputy General Director for Human Resources of the IT holding T1 Ekaterina Kolesnikova at Ural Forum of the Bank of Russia “Cybersecurity in Finance”.

According to experts, in 2025 the number of cyber attacks in Russia almost doubled, and in 2026 it could increase by another third. Against this background, the Russian information security market, according to T1 research, will grow by 12%.

In the context of growing cyber threats, it is important for companies not only to look for specialists on the market, but also to systematically develop them internally. IN T1 in 2025, 80% of senior+ vacancies were filled by internal hiring — thanks to an ecosystem of career development with the possibility of rotations and professional growth planning. This approach allows the formation of qualified IT and Information security teams, taking into account the specifics of projects, retain key specialists and reduce recruitment costs, ensuring continuity of expertise and sustainability of critical systems.

“The deeper technology penetrates into business processes, the higher the cyber risks become. Neural networks are already used by attackers to automate attacks and bypass security mechanisms. To stay one step ahead, information security teams need to master artificial intelligence tools—understand how they work and apply them to identify threats and preventive protection“, emphasized Ekaterina Kolesnikova.

Another prerequisite for working in IT and information security is continuous training. According to T1, by 2030 at least 80% of programmers will be required retraining in the field of working with AI. The ability to use artificial intelligence in your profession will become a basic skill for an IT specialist in the coming years.

To build strong teams, companies must systematically develop expertise their employees. For example, at T1 specialists take courses on secure development. The Security champions community is developing within the holding, which helps implement best information security practices in the early stages of development and build interaction between teams. Currently there are 260 such specialists in the company, and by 2026 their number is planned to increase to a thousand.

“The labor market is simultaneously experiencing a structural shortage and changing competency requirements. The number of vacancies has decreased, but the demand for s has increasedenior– and mmiddle– specialists. Companies, educational organizations and the state have already begun to synchronously restructure approaches to personnel training. Without such close interaction, it is impossible to overcome the current gap between students’ skills and market requirements,” noted Ekaterina Kolesnikova.

T1 works systematically in this direction. The holding cooperates with the country's leading universities and develops educational programs within the framework of the federal projects “Top-AI” and “Top-IT”, focused on training specialists in popular areas – from AI to the development of corporate IT systems.