Information Security Contract Job Trends

Information Security (InfoSec)
UK

The table below provides summary statistics and contractor rates for jobs requiring Information Security skills. It covers contract job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 11 January 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
11 Jan 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 166 127 93
Rank change year-on-year -39 -34 +33
Contract jobs citing Information Security 629 632 1,024
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.73% 1.99% 2.38%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 1.97% 2.24% 2.72%
Number of daily rates quoted 336 375 732
10th Percentile £363 £353 £400
25th Percentile £450 £480 £481
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £550 £585 £575
Median % change year-on-year -5.98% +1.74% -4.17%
75th Percentile £650 £675 £688
90th Percentile £775 £795 £775
UK excluding London median daily rate £488 £575 £550
% change year-on-year -15.22% +4.55% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 75 20 52
10th Percentile £17.48 £15.31 £15.90
25th Percentile £20.71 £19.06 £40.06
Median hourly rate £33.50 £24.18 £50.00
Median % change year-on-year +38.54% -51.64% -23.08%
75th Percentile £52.88 £37.25 £83.40
90th Percentile £81.90 £46.38 -
UK excluding London median hourly rate £33.50 £22.09 £50.00
% change year-on-year +51.65% -55.82% -23.66%

All Process & Methodology Skills
UK

Information Security falls under the Processes and Methodologies category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring process or methodology skills.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for process or methodology skills 31,966 28,176 37,671
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 87.84% 88.65% 87.67%
Number of daily rates quoted 20,158 17,120 25,014
10th Percentile £304 £306 £305
25th Percentile £406 £413 £416
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £525 £525
Median % change year-on-year -4.76% - -4.55%
75th Percentile £615 £638 £650
90th Percentile £723 £744 £743
UK excluding London median daily rate £475 £500 £500
% change year-on-year -5.00% - -
Number of hourly rates quoted 1,974 895 1,590
10th Percentile £14.61 £15.62 £14.18
25th Percentile £17.69 £20.50 £18.35
Median hourly rate £25.15 £32.50 £40.50
Median % change year-on-year -22.62% -19.75% +16.41%
75th Percentile £55.00 £62.00 £65.00
90th Percentile £69.59 £75.00 £77.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £23.83 £30.41 £43.90
% change year-on-year -21.64% -30.74% +59.64%

Information Security
Job Vacancy Trend

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing Information Security relative to all contract IT jobs advertised.

Information Security job vacancy trend in the UK

Information Security
Daily Rate Trend

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Information Security.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Information Security

Information Security
Daily Rate Histogram

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Information Security over the 6 months to 11 January 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Information Security in the UK

Information Security
Hourly Rate Trend

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Information Security.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the UK citing Information Security

Information Security
Hourly Rate Histogram

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Information Security over the 6 months to 11 January 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Information Security in the UK

Information Security
Top 16 Contract Job Locations

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Information Security within the UK over the 6 months to 11 January 2026. The 'Rank Change' column provides an indication of the change in demand within each location based on the same 6 month period last year.

Location Rank Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Matching
Contract
IT Job Ads
Median
Daily Rate
Past 6 Months
Median Daily Rate
% Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Live
Jobs
England -32 559 £550 -8.33% 418
UK excluding London -31 300 £488 -15.22% 386
London -15 253 £595 -0.83% 83
Work from Home -14 186 £550 - 236
South East -26 90 £563 +2.27% 105
North of England -31 71 £475 -13.64% 84
North West -26 46 £466 -14.19% 49
Midlands -35 45 £403 -35.08% 59
South West -14 39 £506 -25.00% 53
East of England +2 35 £553 -7.83% 59
West Midlands -38 27 £403 -47.90% 33
Yorkshire -36 22 £477 -13.27% 26
East Midlands -8 18 £413 +37.50% 25
Scotland -3 15 £425 -5.56% 10
Wales +2 5 £388 -44.64% 15
North East -11 3 £550 -32.52% 9

Information Security
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities by Category

The following tables expand on the one above by listing co-occurrences grouped by category. They cover the same employment type, locality and period, with up to 20 co-occurrences shown in each category:

Application Platforms
1 25 (3.97%) SharePoint
2 17 (2.70%) Confluence
3 14 (2.23%) Microsoft Exchange
4 7 (1.11%) Mattermost
4 7 (1.11%) Skype for Business
5 6 (0.95%) IIS
6 4 (0.64%) Oracle Collaboration Suite
7 1 (0.16%) Apache
7 1 (0.16%) Apache Airflow
7 1 (0.16%) WebSphere
7 1 (0.16%) WebSphere Application Server
Applications
1 60 (9.54%) Microsoft Office
2 26 (4.13%) Microsoft Excel
3 13 (2.07%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 5 (0.79%) MS Visio
5 3 (0.48%) Microsoft Project
5 3 (0.48%) Navisworks
5 3 (0.48%) Revit
6 2 (0.32%) ProjectWise
Business Applications
1 15 (2.38%) Remedy ITSM
2 7 (1.11%) Oracle EBS
3 2 (0.32%) assyst
3 2 (0.32%) SAP GRC
3 2 (0.32%) Temenos T24
4 1 (0.16%) Salesforce CRM
4 1 (0.16%) Teamcenter
Cloud Services
1 115 (18.28%) Azure
2 79 (12.56%) AWS
3 38 (6.04%) Microsoft 365
4 31 (4.93%) Entra ID
5 30 (4.77%) GCP
6 21 (3.34%) Power Platform
7 19 (3.02%) SaaS
8 12 (1.91%) Azure Sentinel
9 8 (1.27%) OCI
9 8 (1.27%) OneDrive
10 7 (1.11%) Microsoft Purview
10 7 (1.11%) Power Automate
11 6 (0.95%) AWS CloudFormation
11 6 (0.95%) Cloud Computing
11 6 (0.95%) PowerApps
12 5 (0.79%) Azure DevOps
12 5 (0.79%) GitHub
13 4 (0.64%) Azure Data Factory
13 4 (0.64%) IaaS
13 4 (0.64%) PaaS
Communications & Networking
1 69 (10.97%) Firewall
2 38 (6.04%) Network Security
3 29 (4.61%) DNS
4 22 (3.50%) TCP/IP
5 17 (2.70%) HTTP
6 16 (2.54%) SSH
7 14 (2.23%) Wireless
8 13 (2.07%) DHCP
8 13 (2.07%) WAN
9 12 (1.91%) Internet
9 12 (1.91%) SMTP
10 11 (1.75%) SSL
11 10 (1.59%) FTP
12 9 (1.43%) VPN
13 8 (1.27%) Wi-Fi
14 7 (1.11%) Intrusion Detection
14 7 (1.11%) Skype
15 6 (0.95%) LAN
16 4 (0.64%) OSPF
16 4 (0.64%) VLAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 18 (2.86%) Power BI
2 11 (1.75%) Data Warehouse
3 6 (0.95%) SQL Server
4 5 (0.79%) GIS
5 4 (0.64%) Data Lake
5 4 (0.64%) SQL Server Reporting Services
6 3 (0.48%) Amazon RDS
6 3 (0.48%) Metadata
6 3 (0.48%) Tableau
7 2 (0.32%) Amazon Aurora
7 2 (0.32%) Amazon Redshift
7 2 (0.32%) BigQuery
7 2 (0.32%) DB2
7 2 (0.32%) EDRMS
7 2 (0.32%) Electronic Patient Records
7 2 (0.32%) MongoDB
7 2 (0.32%) NoSQL
7 2 (0.32%) Power Query
7 2 (0.32%) Relational Database
8 1 (0.16%) Oracle Reports
Development Applications
1 22 (3.50%) JIRA
2 12 (1.91%) Burp Suite
3 10 (1.59%) Metasploit
4 8 (1.27%) Jenkins
5 4 (0.64%) Git
6 3 (0.48%) Artifactory
7 2 (0.32%) Atlassian Bamboo
8 1 (0.16%) Balsamiq
8 1 (0.16%) GCC
8 1 (0.16%) MSI
General
1 243 (38.63%) Social Skills
2 138 (21.94%) Finance
3 85 (13.51%) Analytical Skills
4 79 (12.56%) Public Sector
5 48 (7.63%) Legal
6 35 (5.56%) Banking
7 30 (4.77%) Organisational Skills
8 18 (2.86%) Manufacturing
9 17 (2.70%) Presentation Skills
10 14 (2.23%) Telecoms
11 13 (2.07%) Influencing Skills
11 13 (2.07%) Military
12 11 (1.75%) Documentation Skills
13 10 (1.59%) Law
13 10 (1.59%) Police
14 8 (1.27%) Retail
15 6 (0.95%) Inclusion and Diversity
15 6 (0.95%) Investment Banking
15 6 (0.95%) Spanish Language
16 5 (0.79%) Local Government
Job Titles
1 142 (22.58%) Analyst
2 54 (8.59%) Consultant
3 48 (7.63%) Architect
4 46 (7.31%) Security Analyst
5 44 (7.00%) Senior
6 39 (6.20%) Security Engineer
7 36 (5.72%) Support Analyst
8 34 (5.41%) Security Manager
9 32 (5.09%) Lead
10 31 (4.93%) Security Architect
11 22 (3.50%) Security Officer
12 21 (3.34%) Security Consultant
12 21 (3.34%) Security Specialist
13 18 (2.86%) Coordinator
13 18 (2.86%) Information Analyst
13 18 (2.86%) Information Security Analyst
14 17 (2.70%) IT Analyst
15 15 (2.38%) Cybersecurity Manager
15 15 (2.38%) IT Support
15 15 (2.38%) Security Advisor
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 14 (2.23%) LDAP
2 11 (1.75%) OAuth
3 10 (1.59%) SailPoint
4 8 (1.27%) Middleware
4 8 (1.27%) OpenID
4 8 (1.27%) SAML
5 7 (1.11%) Oracle Fusion
6 6 (0.95%) OAuth2
7 5 (0.79%) Qt
8 4 (0.64%) Elastic Stack
8 4 (0.64%) Spring
8 4 (0.64%) Spring Boot
9 3 (0.48%) ADO
9 3 (0.48%) ModSecurity
9 3 (0.48%) REST
10 2 (0.32%) CSS
10 2 (0.32%) Flash
10 2 (0.32%) GraphQL
10 2 (0.32%) Keycloak
10 2 (0.32%) Smart Contracts
Miscellaneous
1 125 (19.87%) Management Information System
2 80 (12.72%) Security Posture
3 33 (5.25%) Cyber Threat
4 23 (3.66%) PKI
5 19 (3.02%) Security Operations Centre
6 16 (2.54%) Analytical Mindset
6 16 (2.54%) Onboarding
6 16 (2.54%) Operational Technology
7 15 (2.38%) Data Centre
8 13 (2.07%) CSOC
9 12 (1.91%) Cloud Native
9 12 (1.91%) Insider Threat
9 12 (1.91%) Tandem
10 11 (1.75%) Enterprise Software
11 10 (1.59%) Cyberattack
11 10 (1.59%) Data Protection Act
11 10 (1.59%) Product Ownership
12 9 (1.43%) Greenfield Project
13 8 (1.27%) Mobile App
14 7 (1.11%) NHS
Operating Systems
1 73 (11.61%) Windows
2 46 (7.31%) Linux
3 16 (2.54%) Unix
4 15 (2.38%) Windows Server
5 3 (0.48%) Kali Linux
5 3 (0.48%) Mac OS
5 3 (0.48%) Windows 10
6 1 (0.16%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
6 1 (0.16%) VMS
Processes & Methodologies
1 218 (34.66%) Cybersecurity
2 153 (24.32%) Risk Management
3 118 (18.76%) Problem-Solving
4 103 (16.38%) Stakeholder Management
5 95 (15.10%) Data Protection
6 92 (14.63%) Incident Response
7 80 (12.72%) Continuous Improvement
8 74 (11.76%) ITIL
9 70 (11.13%) Cloud Security
10 64 (10.17%) Agile
10 64 (10.17%) Security Operations
11 61 (9.70%) Stakeholder Engagement
12 60 (9.54%) Security Management
13 59 (9.38%) SIEM
14 51 (8.11%) Computer Science
15 49 (7.79%) Threat Modelling
16 45 (7.15%) Incident Management
17 44 (7.00%) Regulatory Compliance
18 43 (6.84%) Roadmaps
19 42 (6.68%) Change Management
Programming Languages
1 51 (8.11%) Python
2 47 (7.47%) PowerShell
3 31 (4.93%) SQL
4 8 (1.27%) Bash
5 7 (1.11%) Java
6 5 (0.79%) C++
7 4 (0.64%) Kotlin
8 3 (0.48%) Kusto Query Language
8 3 (0.48%) Perl
9 2 (0.32%) C#
9 2 (0.32%) Data Analysis Expressions
9 2 (0.32%) Go
9 2 (0.32%) JavaScript
9 2 (0.32%) R
9 2 (0.32%) Rust
9 2 (0.32%) Solidity
10 1 (0.16%) Bicep
10 1 (0.16%) Korn
10 1 (0.16%) T-SQL
10 1 (0.16%) VBScript
Qualifications
1 176 (27.98%) Security Cleared
2 133 (21.14%) SC Cleared
3 121 (19.24%) Degree
4 106 (16.85%) CISSP
5 80 (12.72%) CISM
6 45 (7.15%) DV Cleared
7 38 (6.04%) Computer Science Degree
8 34 (5.41%) CISA
9 24 (3.82%) Master's Degree
10 22 (3.50%) Cisco Certification
11 20 (3.18%) ITIL Certification
12 19 (3.02%) BPSS Clearance
13 18 (2.86%) ISO 27001 Lead Implementer
14 17 (2.70%) ISO 27001 Lead Auditor
15 16 (2.54%) CRISC
16 15 (2.38%) (ISC)2 CCSP
17 13 (2.07%) CCSP
18 12 (1.91%) Azure Certification
18 12 (1.91%) Postgraduate
19 11 (1.75%) CEH
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 180 (28.62%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 140 (22.26%) NIST
3 101 (16.06%) GDPR
4 57 (9.06%) GRC
5 38 (6.04%) PCI DSS
6 26 (4.13%) Cyber Essentials
7 24 (3.82%) COBIT
8 22 (3.50%) NCSC
9 20 (3.18%) PMO
10 19 (3.02%) QA
11 16 (2.54%) Accessibility
12 15 (2.38%) Sarbanes-Oxley
13 14 (2.23%) Def Stans
14 12 (1.91%) NIST 800
15 11 (1.75%) SLA
16 10 (1.59%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
16 10 (1.59%) RMADS
17 9 (1.43%) JSP 440
18 7 (1.11%) ISO/IEC 27002 (supersedes ISO/IEC 17799)
18 7 (1.11%) PSD2
System Software
1 53 (8.43%) Active Directory
2 15 (2.38%) Virtual Machines
3 10 (1.59%) Docker
4 4 (0.64%) VMware Infrastructure
5 1 (0.16%) BitLocker
5 1 (0.16%) Hyper-V
5 1 (0.16%) Microsoft App-V
5 1 (0.16%) Virtual Desktop
5 1 (0.16%) VMware Workstation
Systems Management
1 23 (3.66%) Microsoft Intune
2 16 (2.54%) SCCM
3 15 (2.38%) HP SiteScope
3 15 (2.38%) Kubernetes
3 15 (2.38%) SCOM
4 13 (2.07%) Ansible
4 13 (2.07%) QRadar
5 11 (1.75%) Nmap
5 11 (1.75%) Terraform
6 6 (0.95%) CASB
6 6 (0.95%) SCOrch
6 6 (0.95%) WSUS
7 4 (0.64%) CSIRT
7 4 (0.64%) Functional Safety
7 4 (0.64%) Grafana
8 3 (0.48%) FortiGate
8 3 (0.48%) Prometheus
9 2 (0.32%) Jamf Pro
9 2 (0.32%) Progress Chef
9 2 (0.32%) Single Sign-On
Vendors
1 128 (20.35%) Microsoft
2 27 (4.29%) Splunk
3 23 (3.66%) Cisco
4 21 (3.34%) ServiceNow
5 17 (2.70%) Remedy
6 16 (2.54%) CyberArk
7 15 (2.38%) IBM
8 13 (2.07%) Google
9 12 (1.91%) CrowdStrike
10 11 (1.75%) Fortinet
10 11 (1.75%) Oracle
11 10 (1.59%) Salesforce
12 9 (1.43%) Palo Alto
12 9 (1.43%) Thales
13 8 (1.27%) Databricks
13 8 (1.27%) Gemalto
13 8 (1.27%) SAP
14 7 (1.11%) Qualys
14 7 (1.11%) Sophos
15 5 (0.79%) VMware