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 16 May 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
16 May 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 186 179 111
Rank change year-on-year -7 -68 -8
Contract jobs citing Information Security 690 463 846
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.44% 1.59% 1.99%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 1.70% 1.75% 2.31%
Number of daily rates quoted 419 291 527
10th Percentile £406 £313 £370
25th Percentile £463 £425 £481
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £550 £550 £585
Median % change year-on-year - -5.98% -2.50%
75th Percentile £675 £675 £688
90th Percentile £800 £825 £775
UK excluding London median daily rate £525 £557 £575
% change year-on-year -5.75% -3.13% +4.55%
Number of hourly rates quoted 51 25 25
10th Percentile £16.35 £22.06 £12.75
25th Percentile £19.60 £22.14 £16.71
Median hourly rate £35.00 £24.66 £19.50
Median % change year-on-year +41.93% +26.46% -74.00%
75th Percentile £64.88 £78.36 £23.00
90th Percentile £85.40 £82.59 £33.06
UK excluding London median hourly rate £32.00 £25.15 £18.00
% change year-on-year +27.24% +39.72% -76.24%

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 40,526 26,506 36,695
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 84.38% 90.99% 86.24%
Number of daily rates quoted 25,448 17,044 23,613
10th Percentile £325 £305 £300
25th Percentile £413 £410 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £505 £515 £525
Median % change year-on-year -1.94% -1.90% -4.55%
75th Percentile £613 £626 £638
90th Percentile £725 £738 £750
UK excluding London median daily rate £492 £475 £500
% change year-on-year +3.58% -5.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,394 1,081 2,430
10th Percentile £14.82 £14.30 £12.75
25th Percentile £19.85 £18.20 £16.00
Median hourly rate £42.50 £28.41 £36.02
Median % change year-on-year +49.60% -21.13% +0.06%
75th Percentile £67.49 £60.00 £60.00
90th Percentile £80.00 £75.00 £72.50
UK excluding London median hourly rate £45.00 £25.43 £37.50
% change year-on-year +76.96% -32.19% +7.14%

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 16 May 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 16 May 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 16 May 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 -10 622 £550 - 367
UK excluding London +4 331 £525 -5.75% 268
London +1 301 £595 +13.33% 138
Work from Home -11 187 £550 +4.76% 184
South East -16 121 £550 -12.00% 84
North of England -47 68 £540 +27.06% 66
North West -15 49 £550 +37.50% 49
Midlands -38 46 £540 +35.00% 51
East of England -5 40 £575 -4.17% 25
West Midlands -40 35 £500 +25.00% 39
South West -22 33 £500 -14.89% 32
Scotland -1 22 £358 -25.26% 10
Yorkshire -52 16 £500 +21.21% 14
East Midlands -18 11 £591 - 12
Wales -9 3 £645 +258.33% 4
North East -26 3 £450 -15.73% 3

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 23 (3.33%) Confluence
2 16 (2.32%) SharePoint
3 8 (1.16%) Microsoft Exchange
4 6 (0.87%) Oracle Collaboration Suite
5 4 (0.58%) Apache Spark
6 3 (0.43%) IIS
7 1 (0.14%) Adobe Experience Manager
7 1 (0.14%) WebSphere
7 1 (0.14%) WebSphere Application Server
Applications
1 37 (5.36%) Microsoft Office
2 36 (5.22%) Microsoft Excel
3 15 (2.17%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 11 (1.59%) Microsoft Project
5 2 (0.29%) Spreadsheet
6 1 (0.14%) Adobe After Effects
6 1 (0.14%) Adobe Illustrator
6 1 (0.14%) Adobe Premiere
6 1 (0.14%) Camtasia
6 1 (0.14%) MS Visio
Business Applications
1 10 (1.45%) Oracle EBS
2 6 (0.87%) Remedy ITSM
3 4 (0.58%) NEC Housing
4 2 (0.29%) SAP GRC
4 2 (0.29%) Temenos T24
5 1 (0.14%) Oracle Applications
Cloud Services
1 150 (21.74%) Azure
2 106 (15.36%) AWS
3 46 (6.67%) Microsoft 365
4 39 (5.65%) Entra ID
5 35 (5.07%) SaaS
6 30 (4.35%) GCP
7 26 (3.77%) Power Platform
8 20 (2.90%) Microsoft Purview
9 19 (2.75%) GitHub
10 14 (2.03%) OCI
11 13 (1.88%) Azure Sentinel
12 9 (1.30%) IaaS
13 8 (1.16%) Microsoft Copilot
13 8 (1.16%) Power Automate
14 7 (1.01%) PowerApps
15 6 (0.87%) Azure Data Factory
15 6 (0.87%) Azure Key Vault
15 6 (0.87%) Azure Logic Apps
15 6 (0.87%) OneDrive
15 6 (0.87%) PaaS
Communications & Networking
1 48 (6.96%) Firewall
2 42 (6.09%) Network Security
3 15 (2.17%) DNS
4 14 (2.03%) Wireless
5 13 (1.88%) HTTP
5 13 (1.88%) TCP/IP
6 12 (1.74%) VPN
7 9 (1.30%) SSH
8 6 (0.87%) DHCP
8 6 (0.87%) Internet
8 6 (0.87%) SSL
9 5 (0.72%) FTP
9 5 (0.72%) HTTPS
9 5 (0.72%) Intrusion Detection
9 5 (0.72%) SMTP
9 5 (0.72%) WAN
10 3 (0.43%) Cisco IPT
10 3 (0.43%) NGFW
10 3 (0.43%) SAN
11 2 (0.29%) LAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 23 (3.33%) Power BI
2 13 (1.88%) SQL Server
3 10 (1.45%) Metadata
4 8 (1.16%) Data Warehouse
5 6 (0.87%) Data Lake
6 4 (0.58%) Big Data
6 4 (0.58%) Hadoop
6 4 (0.58%) MongoDB
6 4 (0.58%) Oracle Reports
7 3 (0.43%) NoSQL
7 3 (0.43%) PostgreSQL
7 3 (0.43%) SQL Server Reporting Services
7 3 (0.43%) Tableau
8 2 (0.29%) DynamoDB
8 2 (0.29%) Elasticsearch
8 2 (0.29%) MySQL
8 2 (0.29%) Oracle BI Publisher
9 1 (0.14%) Amazon Redshift
9 1 (0.14%) Relational Database
9 1 (0.14%) Semantic Layer
Development Applications
1 24 (3.48%) JIRA
2 14 (2.03%) Burp Suite
3 12 (1.74%) Metasploit
4 9 (1.30%) Git
5 3 (0.43%) git-flow
6 2 (0.29%) GitLab
6 2 (0.29%) JMeter
7 1 (0.14%) AppScan
7 1 (0.14%) Atlassian Bamboo
7 1 (0.14%) Bitbucket
7 1 (0.14%) ScriptRunner
7 1 (0.14%) SoapUI
7 1 (0.14%) SonarQube
General
1 218 (31.59%) Social Skills
2 142 (20.58%) Finance
3 101 (14.64%) Public Sector
4 91 (13.19%) Analytical Skills
5 66 (9.57%) Legal
6 56 (8.12%) Banking
7 28 (4.06%) Organisational Skills
8 26 (3.77%) Documentation Skills
9 20 (2.90%) Influencing Skills
10 15 (2.17%) Retail
11 13 (1.88%) Presentation Skills
12 12 (1.74%) Local Government
13 9 (1.30%) Marketing
13 9 (1.30%) Telecoms
14 8 (1.16%) Law
15 6 (0.87%) Investment Banking
15 6 (0.87%) Pharmaceutical
15 6 (0.87%) Police
16 5 (0.72%) Cyber-Physical System
16 5 (0.72%) Military
Job Titles
1 99 (14.35%) Analyst
2 73 (10.58%) Consultant
3 59 (8.55%) Security Engineer
4 52 (7.54%) Architect
4 52 (7.54%) Senior
5 49 (7.10%) Security Consultant
6 47 (6.81%) Lead
7 40 (5.80%) Security Manager
8 39 (5.65%) Security Analyst
9 37 (5.36%) Security Architect
10 34 (4.93%) Security Officer
11 27 (3.91%) Project Manager
12 24 (3.48%) Developer
13 22 (3.19%) Information Security Officer
14 21 (3.04%) IT Manager
15 20 (2.90%) Cybersecurity Manager
16 19 (2.75%) Business Analyst
17 17 (2.46%) Security Specialist
18 15 (2.17%) Information Analyst
18 15 (2.17%) Information Security Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 23 (3.33%) OAuth
2 18 (2.61%) SailPoint
3 17 (2.46%) OAuth2
4 16 (2.32%) Oracle Fusion
5 15 (2.17%) LDAP
6 12 (1.74%) OpenID
6 12 (1.74%) SAML
7 8 (1.16%) Web Services
8 7 (1.01%) .NET
8 7 (1.01%) J2EE
8 7 (1.01%) JSP
8 7 (1.01%) Spring
8 7 (1.01%) Spring Boot
9 6 (0.87%) Middleware
9 6 (0.87%) REST
10 5 (0.72%) Node.js
10 5 (0.72%) RESTful
11 4 (0.58%) Elastic Stack
11 4 (0.58%) Kafka
11 4 (0.58%) XML
Miscellaneous
1 110 (15.94%) Management Information System
2 62 (8.99%) Security Posture
3 51 (7.39%) Onboarding
4 37 (5.36%) Operational Technology
5 21 (3.04%) Cyber Threat
6 18 (2.61%) Data Protection Act
7 17 (2.46%) Security Operations Centre
8 16 (2.32%) Cloud Native
9 13 (1.88%) Analytical Mindset
10 11 (1.59%) BYOD
10 11 (1.59%) CSOC
10 11 (1.59%) Insider Threat
10 11 (1.59%) Mobile App
10 11 (1.59%) Product Ownership
10 11 (1.59%) Virtual Team
11 10 (1.45%) Enterprise Software
11 10 (1.45%) Legacy Systems
11 10 (1.45%) SCADA
12 9 (1.30%) PKI
12 9 (1.30%) Public Cloud
Operating Systems
1 79 (11.45%) Windows
2 41 (5.94%) Linux
3 30 (4.35%) Windows Server
4 16 (2.32%) Unix
5 8 (1.16%) Apple iOS
6 7 (1.01%) Mac OS
7 3 (0.43%) Windows 10
7 3 (0.43%) zOS
8 2 (0.29%) Android
9 1 (0.14%) Kali Linux
9 1 (0.14%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Processes & Methodologies
1 249 (36.09%) Cybersecurity
2 176 (25.51%) Risk Management
3 121 (17.54%) Continuous Improvement
4 111 (16.09%) Data Protection
5 109 (15.80%) Stakeholder Management
6 108 (15.65%) Problem-Solving
7 84 (12.17%) Cloud Security
8 73 (10.58%) Agile
9 72 (10.43%) Security Operations
10 71 (10.29%) Security Management
11 69 (10.00%) Incident Response
12 64 (9.28%) Roadmaps
13 60 (8.70%) Change Management
14 59 (8.55%) AI
14 59 (8.55%) SIEM
14 59 (8.55%) Stakeholder Engagement
15 57 (8.26%) Computer Science
16 54 (7.83%) Decision-Making
16 54 (7.83%) Information Security Management
17 52 (7.54%) Analytics
Programming Languages
1 82 (11.88%) Python
2 63 (9.13%) PowerShell
3 26 (3.77%) Java
4 23 (3.33%) Bash
5 18 (2.61%) SQL
6 7 (1.01%) Kotlin
7 6 (0.87%) C#
7 6 (0.87%) Kusto Query Language
8 5 (0.72%) Go
9 3 (0.43%) Bicep
9 3 (0.43%) JavaScript
9 3 (0.43%) RPG
10 2 (0.29%) Apex Code
11 1 (0.14%) BeanShell
11 1 (0.14%) C++
11 1 (0.14%) Data Analysis Expressions
11 1 (0.14%) Lisp
11 1 (0.14%) R
11 1 (0.14%) TypeScript
11 1 (0.14%) VBA
Qualifications
1 190 (27.54%) Security Cleared
2 145 (21.01%) SC Cleared
3 141 (20.43%) Degree
4 121 (17.54%) CISSP
5 83 (12.03%) CISM
6 47 (6.81%) DV Cleared
7 33 (4.78%) CISA
8 29 (4.20%) Cisco Certification
9 28 (4.06%) CRISC
10 24 (3.48%) (ISC)2 CCSP
10 24 (3.48%) Computer Science Degree
11 18 (2.61%) CEH
12 17 (2.46%) CREST Certified
13 16 (2.32%) ISO 27001 Lead Implementer
14 14 (2.03%) ISO 27001 Lead Auditor
14 14 (2.03%) PMP
14 14 (2.03%) Postgraduate
15 13 (1.88%) Master's Degree
15 13 (1.88%) PMI Certification
16 12 (1.74%) GIAC
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 225 (32.61%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 151 (21.88%) NIST
3 120 (17.39%) GDPR
4 90 (13.04%) GRC
5 52 (7.54%) PCI DSS
6 31 (4.49%) Cyber Essentials
7 29 (4.20%) COBIT
8 26 (3.77%) NCSC
8 26 (3.77%) QA
9 25 (3.62%) PMO
10 23 (3.33%) Data Quality
11 21 (3.04%) Sarbanes-Oxley
12 18 (2.61%) NIST 800
13 14 (2.03%) SOC 2
14 13 (1.88%) ISO/IEC 27005
15 12 (1.74%) Accessibility
15 12 (1.74%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
16 10 (1.45%) HIPAA
17 7 (1.01%) Government Security Classifications
17 7 (1.01%) HMG Security Policy Framework
System Software
1 54 (7.83%) Active Directory
2 9 (1.30%) Docker
3 6 (0.87%) Virtual Machines
3 6 (0.87%) VMware Infrastructure
4 5 (0.72%) Hyper-V
5 3 (0.43%) Squid
6 1 (0.14%) BitLocker
6 1 (0.14%) Ceph
6 1 (0.14%) Firmware
6 1 (0.14%) RACF
6 1 (0.14%) Virtual Servers
Systems Management
1 17 (2.46%) Microsoft Intune
2 13 (1.88%) Kubernetes
2 13 (1.88%) Terraform
3 11 (1.59%) Nmap
4 10 (1.45%) SCCM
5 9 (1.30%) Ansible
6 7 (1.01%) Single Sign-On
7 5 (0.72%) Functional Safety
7 5 (0.72%) QRadar
8 4 (0.58%) WSUS
9 3 (0.43%) Podman
10 2 (0.29%) CASB
10 2 (0.29%) Computer Incident Response Team
10 2 (0.29%) FortiGate
10 2 (0.29%) Prometheus
10 2 (0.29%) Red Hat Satellite
11 1 (0.14%) Nessus
11 1 (0.14%) Progress Chef
11 1 (0.14%) RSA Archer
11 1 (0.14%) SCOrch
Vendors
1 120 (17.39%) Microsoft
2 36 (5.22%) ServiceNow
3 23 (3.33%) Oracle
4 19 (2.75%) CyberArk
5 18 (2.61%) Google
6 16 (2.32%) BeyondTrust
7 15 (2.17%) Cisco
8 13 (1.88%) CrowdStrike
9 9 (1.30%) Palo Alto
9 9 (1.30%) Splunk
10 8 (1.16%) IBM
10 8 (1.16%) Remedy
11 7 (1.01%) VMware
12 5 (0.72%) Apple
12 5 (0.72%) Databricks
12 5 (0.72%) SAP
12 5 (0.72%) Sophos
13 4 (0.58%) Ariba
13 4 (0.58%) Fortinet
13 4 (0.58%) Red Hat