New Delhi, Mar 28 (IANS): In a bid to reduce skill gap in the field of cyber security, Microsoft has announced to expand its cybersecurity skills campaign to additional 23 countries, including India, with new targeted investments.

According to the tech giant, India along with these countries have an elevated cyberthreat risk, coupled with a significant gap in their cybersecurity workforces both in terms of the number of professionals employed in cybersecurity vs. the demand, as well as a lack of diversity.

"In India, we're building off our existing CyberShikshaa programme, which is helping break down the gender divide in the cybersecurity field," said the company.

By 2025, the cybersecurity sector in India will have an estimated 1.5 million job vacancies. This represents a 42 per cent talent shortage even as cybersecurity job growth is projected to grow by 32 per cent by 2028, according to the country's Labor Bureau.

"The demand is there, but more must be done to meet it; most higher-education and technical institutes do not offer cybersecurity courses," said Microaoft.

"Since 2018, we have helped young women with technical training in cybersecurity with mentoring from industry experts, especially from women leaders in the field, followed by job placement assistance with leading companies," the tech giant added.

Cybersecurity continues to be a significant threat for governments, businesses and individuals around the world.

By 2025, there will be 3.5 million cybersecurity jobs open globally, representing a 350 per cent increase over an eight-year period, according to Cybersecurity Ventures.

"The number of cybersecurity attacks around the world is increasing every day, and increasing in complexity as cybercriminals continue to escalate their activity," said Microsoft.