OVER three quarters of cybersecurity professionals were not granted a pay rise last year, contributing to feelings of being undervalued among half of the workforce and prompting many to consider seeking a new role in the near future.
A Harvey Nash Global Tech Talent & Salary Report, published on 27 April 2026, found that information security professionals were among the most pessimistic about the prospects of a pay rise in the next year, with just 45% of cybersecurity employees expecting a pay increase during the next 12 months.
This contrasts with AI and machine learning workers, where three quarters expect a pay rise in the same period, and the sector remains the third most unhappy group in the technology industry, with 23% describing themselves as unhappy.
The report is based on a survey of over 3646 technology professionals globally (including 1394 in the UK and 629 in the US) conducted between 4 November 2025 and 26 January 2026, and notes that few organisations increased investment in cybersecurity despite major incidents such as the ransomware attack against Jaguar Land Rover and the data breach at Change Healthcare.
According to Ankur Anand, CIO of Harvey Nash, organisations should treat cyber talent as a strategic capability to reduce risk, keep staff engaged and prevent attrition.