Cyber, Technology & Data Risk Search
We place the cyber, technology-risk and IT-audit leaders accounting firms compete hardest to hire, into the scarcest and highest-premium specialism in risk advisory across Singapore, Hong Kong, Sydney, Dubai and London.
Market overview
Cyber and technology risk is the single tightest talent market in risk advisory, and Asia Pacific is its epicentre. The 2024 ISC2 study placed the global cyber workforce gap at 4.8 million [2], and Asia Pacific carries persistent unfilled cyber demand despite a growing workforce. Singapore faces a persistent cybersecurity talent shortage, with thousands of specialist roles unfilled. For accounting firms scaling a cyber-risk practice, the binding constraint is not client demand but the ability to attract and retain credentialled leaders.
That scarcity translates directly into pay. CISSP, CISM and cloud-security certifications carry post-certification salary lifts of 15 to 35 percent; governance-focused leaders are steered toward CRISC and CGEIT [8]. The depth of the shortage is also qualitative, with 88 percent of organisations globally reporting at least one significant security consequence attributable to a skills gap [7].
Demand is broad-based across the specialism. Cyber-risk advisory, technology risk and IT audit are now mandatory components of statutory and internal audit work as firms digitise, reinforced by the MAS Technology Risk Management Guidelines and HKMA cyber-resilience expectations, while penetration testing and offensive-security assurance are increasingly demanded by boards and regulators. Operational-resilience regulation such as the EU's DORA carries implications for APAC firms providing services to EU financial entities [6].
Hiring a cyber-risk partner is therefore a contest, frequently against in-house CISO roles, the technology vendors and the specialist boutiques. CharteredPartners runs discreet, premium retained searches that reach passive leaders, benchmark the aggressive compensation reality and assess the delivery team and certifications that must come with the hire.
What we cover
- Cyber risk advisory
- Technology risk
- IT audit
- Penetration testing
Roles we place
Practice Leadership
- Partner, Cyber Risk
- Cyber & Technology Risk Practice Leader
- Partner, Technology Risk Assurance
- Director, Digital Risk
Technology Risk & IT Audit
- Director, IT Audit
- Technology Risk Senior Manager
- ICT & Third-Party Risk Lead
- Data Risk & Privacy Director
Offensive Security & Testing
- Head of Penetration Testing
- Red Team Lead
- Offensive Security Director
- Threat & Vulnerability Assessment Manager
Candidate profile
Recognised cyber and risk credentials: CISSP, CISM, CRISC, CISA, and OSCP / CREST for offensive-security and penetration-testing leaders.
Track record building or scaling a cyber-risk / technology-risk practice in a Big Four, mid-tier or specialist boutique, ideally in the Singapore or Hong Kong financial-services market.
Depth across cyber-risk advisory, IT audit, cloud and data risk, and MAS TRM / HKMA cyber-resilience and DORA-style ICT testing, with board-facing communication that translates technical findings into risk decisions.
APAC reach and language depth (Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, Bahasa) prized given the regional shortage and cross-border delivery.
Seniority
- Senior Manager
- Director / Principal
- Partner
- Practice Leader / Head of Cyber Risk
Sectors served
- Financial services & fintech
- Technology & telecoms
- Critical infrastructure & utilities
- Healthcare
- Government & defence
- Professional services
Frequently asked
- Why is cyber-risk talent so hard to hire?
- Asia Pacific carries persistent unfilled cyber demand despite a growing workforce, and Singapore faces a persistent cybersecurity talent shortage with thousands of specialist roles unfilled. Credentialled leaders are courted by in-house CISO functions, vendors and boutiques as well as the accounting firms, and compensation premiums of 15 to 35 percent for top certifications plus aggressive counter-offers make a mapped, confidential retained process essential.
- Are you placing penetration-testing and offensive-security leaders too?
- Yes. Boards and regulators increasingly demand independent offensive-security assurance, so we place red-team and penetration-testing leaders (CREST, OSCP) alongside advisory and IT-audit partners, often as part of building an integrated cyber practice.
- How is regulation affecting cyber hiring?
- MAS Technology Risk Management Guidelines and HKMA cyber-resilience expectations drive the core regional demand, while operational-resilience regimes such as DORA carry implications for APAC firms providing services to EU financial entities, generating a sustained pipeline of ICT and third-party risk-testing work and a corresponding need for leaders who can deliver it.