February 5, 2026
Cybersecurity is no longer a background concern for governments and businesses. According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), cybersecurity is now one of the fastest-accelerating global risks, driven by artificial intelligence, geopolitical instability, and increasingly complex digital systems.
In its Global Cybersecurity Outlook, the Forum warns that organizations are struggling to keep pace with both the scale and speed of modern cyber threats — particularly as AI reshapes how attacks are launched and defended against. And at the recent World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, the risk wasn’t just discussed in abstract terms — global business leaders echoed the concern on the ground. According to a recent analysis of conversations from the summit, 87 per cent of executives identified AI-related vulnerabilities as the fastest-growing cyber risk over the past year, underscoring how quickly the landscape is shifting for organizations trying to keep pace.
While investment in cybersecurity tools continues to rise, the Forum emphasizes that technology alone is not enough. The bigger challenge, it argues, is human capability.
“The growing complexity of the cyber landscape is outpacing the availability of skilled cybersecurity professionals,” the World Economic Forum notes in its Global Cybersecurity Outlook.
The gap is now baked into the global economy. The World Economic Forum estimates that 3.4 million cybersecurity professionals are needed worldwide, a shortfall that continues to widen as digital systems expand across critical infrastructure, public services and supply chains.
In Nova Scotia, that global skills gap is already shaping how Digital Nova Scotia (DNS) is approaching cybersecurity training. Through our new LevelSec: Advancing Cyber Leaders training, DNS is preparing learners with future-aligned skills through two targeted courses: AI & IT Security Systems and Cybersecurity Governance & Risk Management.
AI & Security Systems
As AI becomes embedded across business operations, the WEF has flagged AI-related risk as one of the fastest-growing cyber risks worldwide.
“AI is transforming cybersecurity on both sides of the fight,” the Forum notes in its Global Cybersecurity Outlook, pointing to how the same technologies that help organizations detect threats can also be used to scale and automate attacks.
This shift is changing what cybersecurity work looks like in practice. Our AI & Security Systems LevelSec course prepares learners to work confidently in this environment by focusing on how AI intersects with modern security systems — from understanding AI-driven threats to supporting detection and response while maintaining appropriate human oversight.
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Cybersecurity Governance & Risk Management
The World Economic Forum has been clear that cybersecurity is no longer just a technical issue. It is now a core business and governance responsibility, closely tied to how organizations manage disruption, protect trust and recover when incidents occur.
“Cybersecurity has become a fundamental pillar of organizational resilience and trust,” the Forum notes.
That shift has changed what organizations are looking for in cybersecurity talent. Beyond technical expertise, there is growing demand for people who can connect cyber risk to real-world decisions — turning vulnerabilities into policies, controls, and informed action.
Digital Nova Scotia’s Cybersecurity Governance & Risk Management LevelSec training is designed to build that bridge, preparing learners to translate cyber risk into the kind of strategic insight organizations increasingly rely on.
Through the program, learners develop the ability to assess and manage cybersecurity risk across organizations, understand governance frameworks and regulatory expectations, support compliance, resilience planning, and incident readiness, and clearly communicate cyber risk to leadership and key stakeholders.
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The World Economic Forum is clear that cybersecurity is becoming more complex, more strategic, and more central to organizational resilience. Digital Nova Scotia’s LevelSec cybersecurity programs are designed with that reality in mind — aligning with global risk trends and employer demand for applied, transferable skills. For those looking to build skills that match the reality organizations are now facing, the LevelSec cybersecurity programs through Digital Nova Scotia offer a pathway into a field where demand is global, the work is evolving, and the opportunity is real.