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 20 December 2025, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
20 Dec 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 163 124 96
Rank change year-on-year -39 -28 +30
Contract jobs citing Information Security 649 695 1,063
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.76% 2.04% 2.42%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 1.99% 2.31% 2.73%
Number of daily rates quoted 341 420 755
10th Percentile £350 £398 £400
25th Percentile £450 £480 £488
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £538 £594 £575
Median % change year-on-year -9.51% +3.30% -4.17%
75th Percentile £650 £688 £688
90th Percentile £775 £800 £775
UK excluding London median daily rate £475 £575 £554
% change year-on-year -17.39% +3.84% +0.68%
Number of hourly rates quoted 78 23 54
10th Percentile £17.88 £15.42 £15.92
25th Percentile £20.71 £16.16 £42.25
Median hourly rate £33.50 £22.09 £50.00
Median % change year-on-year +51.65% -55.82% -23.08%
75th Percentile £65.00 £35.88 £83.40
90th Percentile £81.45 £44.75 -
UK excluding London median hourly rate £33.50 £22.09 £50.00
% change year-on-year +51.65% -55.82% -23.66%

All Process and 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 32,565 30,055 38,949
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 88.34% 88.19% 88.52%
Number of daily rates quoted 20,467 18,359 26,012
10th Percentile £300 £306 £307
25th Percentile £406 £413 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £525 £530
Median % change year-on-year -4.76% -0.94% -3.64%
75th Percentile £615 £638 £650
90th Percentile £723 £742 £745
UK excluding London median daily rate £476 £500 £500
% change year-on-year -4.80% - -
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,103 978 1,503
10th Percentile £14.55 £15.62 £14.36
25th Percentile £17.50 £20.30 £18.94
Median hourly rate £25.15 £32.50 £43.50
Median % change year-on-year -22.62% -25.29% +24.29%
75th Percentile £49.75 £62.50 £65.00
90th Percentile £68.00 £73.75 £77.50
UK excluding London median hourly rate £23.02 £31.52 £44.50
% change year-on-year -26.98% -29.17% +42.58%

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 20 December 2025.

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 20 December 2025.

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 20 December 2025. 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 -36 576 £538 -10.42% 241
UK excluding London -33 300 £475 -17.39% 208
London -21 270 £580 -3.33% 72
Work from Home -11 196 £538 -2.27% 126
South East -43 79 £569 +1.11% 67
North of England -40 74 £475 -13.64% 50
North West -26 47 £470 -14.50% 36
Midlands -33 47 £403 -35.08% 27
South West -17 40 £425 -37.10% 35
East of England +2 38 £520 -13.33% 25
West Midlands -40 27 £403 -36.74% 20
Yorkshire -40 24 £477 -13.27% 13
East Midlands -4 20 £413 -21.43% 7
Scotland -6 17 £435 -3.33% 7
Wales +4 5 £388 -44.64% 2
North East -9 3 £550 -32.52% 1

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 29 (4.47%) SharePoint
2 18 (2.77%) Confluence
3 17 (2.62%) Microsoft Exchange
4 7 (1.08%) Mattermost
4 7 (1.08%) Skype for Business
5 6 (0.92%) IIS
6 4 (0.62%) Oracle Collaboration Suite
7 1 (0.15%) Apache
7 1 (0.15%) Apache Airflow
7 1 (0.15%) Tomcat
7 1 (0.15%) WebSphere
7 1 (0.15%) WebSphere Application Server
Applications
1 56 (8.63%) Microsoft Office
2 27 (4.16%) Microsoft Excel
3 10 (1.54%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 5 (0.77%) MS Visio
5 4 (0.62%) Microsoft Project
6 3 (0.46%) Navisworks
6 3 (0.46%) Revit
7 2 (0.31%) ProjectWise
8 1 (0.15%) GNU Octave
Business Applications
1 15 (2.31%) Remedy ITSM
2 7 (1.08%) Oracle EBS
3 2 (0.31%) assyst
3 2 (0.31%) SAP GRC
3 2 (0.31%) Temenos T24
4 1 (0.15%) NEC Housing
4 1 (0.15%) Salesforce CRM
4 1 (0.15%) Teamcenter
Cloud Services
1 129 (19.88%) Azure
2 85 (13.10%) AWS
3 41 (6.32%) Microsoft 365
4 34 (5.24%) Entra ID
5 31 (4.78%) GCP
6 27 (4.16%) Power Platform
7 18 (2.77%) SaaS
8 14 (2.16%) Azure Sentinel
9 9 (1.39%) Microsoft Purview
10 8 (1.23%) OCI
10 8 (1.23%) OneDrive
11 6 (0.92%) AWS CloudFormation
11 6 (0.92%) Cloud Computing
11 6 (0.92%) PowerApps
12 5 (0.77%) Azure DevOps
12 5 (0.77%) GitHub
12 5 (0.77%) Power Automate
13 4 (0.62%) Azure Data Factory
14 3 (0.46%) IaaS
14 3 (0.46%) OpenShift
Communications & Networking
1 71 (10.94%) Firewall
2 44 (6.78%) Network Security
3 35 (5.39%) DNS
4 24 (3.70%) HTTP
5 21 (3.24%) TCP/IP
6 17 (2.62%) SMTP
6 17 (2.62%) SSH
7 16 (2.47%) SSL
8 15 (2.31%) FTP
9 14 (2.16%) DHCP
9 14 (2.16%) WAN
10 12 (1.85%) Internet
10 12 (1.85%) VPN
11 10 (1.54%) Wireless
12 9 (1.39%) Intrusion Detection
12 9 (1.39%) Wi-Fi
13 7 (1.08%) Skype
14 6 (0.92%) LAN
15 4 (0.62%) NGFW
15 4 (0.62%) VLAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 24 (3.70%) Power BI
2 11 (1.69%) Data Warehouse
3 6 (0.92%) GIS
3 6 (0.92%) SQL Server
3 6 (0.92%) Tableau
4 4 (0.62%) Data Lake
4 4 (0.62%) SQL Server Reporting Services
5 3 (0.46%) Amazon RDS
5 3 (0.46%) Metadata
5 3 (0.46%) NoSQL
6 2 (0.31%) Amazon Aurora
6 2 (0.31%) Amazon Redshift
6 2 (0.31%) Big Data
6 2 (0.31%) BigQuery
6 2 (0.31%) DB2
6 2 (0.31%) MongoDB
6 2 (0.31%) Oracle Reports
6 2 (0.31%) Power Query
6 2 (0.31%) Redis
6 2 (0.31%) Relational Database
Development Applications
1 30 (4.62%) JIRA
2 9 (1.39%) Jenkins
3 8 (1.23%) Burp Suite
4 6 (0.92%) Metasploit
5 5 (0.77%) Artifactory
6 4 (0.62%) Git
7 2 (0.31%) Atlassian Bamboo
8 1 (0.15%) Balsamiq
8 1 (0.15%) Eclipse
8 1 (0.15%) GCC
8 1 (0.15%) MSI
8 1 (0.15%) Snyk
8 1 (0.15%) SonarQube
General
1 256 (39.45%) Social Skills
2 145 (22.34%) Finance
3 90 (13.87%) Analytical Skills
4 78 (12.02%) Public Sector
5 49 (7.55%) Legal
6 40 (6.16%) Banking
7 29 (4.47%) Organisational Skills
8 18 (2.77%) Manufacturing
9 16 (2.47%) Presentation Skills
10 14 (2.16%) Military
10 14 (2.16%) Telecoms
11 13 (2.00%) Influencing Skills
12 10 (1.54%) Documentation Skills
12 10 (1.54%) Law
12 10 (1.54%) Police
13 9 (1.39%) Inclusion and Diversity
13 9 (1.39%) Retail
14 7 (1.08%) Investment Banking
14 7 (1.08%) Local Government
15 6 (0.92%) Spanish Language
Job Titles
1 154 (23.73%) Analyst
2 61 (9.40%) Consultant
3 51 (7.86%) Architect
4 50 (7.70%) Senior
5 49 (7.55%) Security Analyst
6 40 (6.16%) Security Engineer
7 39 (6.01%) Support Analyst
8 36 (5.55%) Lead
9 34 (5.24%) Security Architect
10 33 (5.08%) Security Manager
11 27 (4.16%) Security Consultant
12 21 (3.24%) Information Analyst
12 21 (3.24%) Information Security Analyst
13 20 (3.08%) SOC Analyst
14 18 (2.77%) Coordinator
14 18 (2.77%) Security Specialist
15 17 (2.62%) Developer
16 16 (2.47%) IT Support
17 15 (2.31%) Security Officer
18 14 (2.16%) IT Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 19 (2.93%) LDAP
2 15 (2.31%) SailPoint
3 13 (2.00%) OAuth
4 9 (1.39%) Middleware
4 9 (1.39%) OpenID
4 9 (1.39%) SAML
5 8 (1.23%) Oracle Fusion
6 7 (1.08%) OAuth2
7 6 (0.92%) Qt
8 5 (0.77%) REST
9 4 (0.62%) Elastic Stack
9 4 (0.62%) Spring
9 4 (0.62%) Spring Boot
10 3 (0.46%) .NET
10 3 (0.46%) ADO
10 3 (0.46%) ModSecurity
10 3 (0.46%) PyTorch
10 3 (0.46%) TensorFlow
10 3 (0.46%) Web Services
11 2 (0.31%) Hugging Face
Miscellaneous
1 128 (19.72%) Management Information System
2 82 (12.63%) Security Posture
3 35 (5.39%) Cyber Threat
4 25 (3.85%) PKI
4 25 (3.85%) Security Operations Centre
5 19 (2.93%) Analytical Mindset
5 19 (2.93%) Onboarding
6 17 (2.62%) CSOC
7 16 (2.47%) Data Centre
8 15 (2.31%) Cyberattack
9 14 (2.16%) Operational Technology
10 13 (2.00%) Cloud Native
10 13 (2.00%) Tandem
11 11 (1.69%) Data Protection Act
11 11 (1.69%) Enterprise Software
12 10 (1.54%) Insider Threat
12 10 (1.54%) Product Ownership
13 8 (1.23%) Legacy Systems
13 8 (1.23%) Mobile App
14 7 (1.08%) NHS
Operating Systems
1 75 (11.56%) Windows
2 48 (7.40%) Linux
3 17 (2.62%) Unix
4 15 (2.31%) Windows Server
5 4 (0.62%) Windows 10
6 3 (0.46%) Kali Linux
6 3 (0.46%) Mac OS
7 1 (0.15%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
7 1 (0.15%) VMS
Processes & Methodologies
1 228 (35.13%) Cybersecurity
2 154 (23.73%) Risk Management
3 122 (18.80%) Problem-Solving
4 109 (16.80%) Stakeholder Management
5 103 (15.87%) Incident Response
6 96 (14.79%) Data Protection
7 82 (12.63%) Continuous Improvement
8 79 (12.17%) ITIL
9 77 (11.86%) Cloud Security
10 75 (11.56%) Security Operations
11 69 (10.63%) Agile
12 66 (10.17%) SIEM
13 60 (9.24%) Stakeholder Engagement
14 59 (9.09%) Security Management
15 58 (8.94%) Threat Modelling
16 54 (8.32%) Computer Science
17 45 (6.93%) Information Security Management
18 44 (6.78%) Decision-Making
18 44 (6.78%) Roadmaps
18 44 (6.78%) Security Architecture
Programming Languages
1 61 (9.40%) Python
2 54 (8.32%) PowerShell
3 38 (5.86%) SQL
4 11 (1.69%) Bash
4 11 (1.69%) Java
5 6 (0.92%) C++
6 4 (0.62%) Kotlin
7 3 (0.46%) C#
7 3 (0.46%) Perl
7 3 (0.46%) R
8 2 (0.31%) Data Analysis Expressions
8 2 (0.31%) Go
8 2 (0.31%) JavaScript
8 2 (0.31%) Kusto Query Language
8 2 (0.31%) PHP
8 2 (0.31%) Rust
8 2 (0.31%) Solidity
8 2 (0.31%) TypeScript
9 1 (0.15%) ANSI SQL
9 1 (0.15%) Bicep
Qualifications
1 162 (24.96%) Security Cleared
2 124 (19.11%) SC Cleared
3 118 (18.18%) CISSP
4 117 (18.03%) Degree
5 81 (12.48%) CISM
6 43 (6.63%) DV Cleared
7 42 (6.47%) Computer Science Degree
8 37 (5.70%) CISA
9 25 (3.85%) ISO 27001 Lead Auditor
10 24 (3.70%) Cisco Certification
11 23 (3.54%) Master's Degree
12 20 (3.08%) ITIL Certification
13 19 (2.93%) BPSS Clearance
13 19 (2.93%) ISO 27001 Lead Implementer
14 17 (2.62%) (ISC)2 CCSP
15 15 (2.31%) CRISC
16 14 (2.16%) Azure Certification
16 14 (2.16%) CEH
17 13 (2.00%) CCSP
18 11 (1.69%) CompTIA Security+
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 186 (28.66%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 157 (24.19%) NIST
3 106 (16.33%) GDPR
4 55 (8.47%) GRC
5 36 (5.55%) PCI DSS
6 33 (5.08%) COBIT
7 31 (4.78%) Cyber Essentials
8 20 (3.08%) NCSC
8 20 (3.08%) NIST 800
9 18 (2.77%) QA
10 16 (2.47%) Accessibility
11 15 (2.31%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
12 14 (2.16%) Def Stans
13 13 (2.00%) PMO
13 13 (2.00%) SLA
14 12 (1.85%) ISO/IEC 27002 (supersedes ISO/IEC 17799)
15 11 (1.69%) Sarbanes-Oxley
16 9 (1.39%) JSP 440
17 8 (1.23%) ISO/IEC 27005
18 7 (1.08%) PSD2
System Software
1 54 (8.32%) Active Directory
2 16 (2.47%) Virtual Machines
3 10 (1.54%) Docker
4 4 (0.62%) VMware Infrastructure
5 1 (0.15%) BitLocker
5 1 (0.15%) Hyper-V
5 1 (0.15%) Microsoft App-V
5 1 (0.15%) Virtual Desktop
5 1 (0.15%) VMware Workstation
Systems Management
1 24 (3.70%) Microsoft Intune
2 18 (2.77%) SCCM
3 17 (2.62%) Kubernetes
4 16 (2.47%) QRadar
5 15 (2.31%) HP SiteScope
5 15 (2.31%) SCOM
6 13 (2.00%) Ansible
7 12 (1.85%) Terraform
8 7 (1.08%) CASB
8 7 (1.08%) Nmap
8 7 (1.08%) SCOrch
9 6 (0.92%) RSA Archer
9 6 (0.92%) WSUS
10 5 (0.77%) Grafana
11 4 (0.62%) CSIRT
11 4 (0.62%) Prometheus
12 3 (0.46%) FortiGate
13 2 (0.31%) Nessus
13 2 (0.31%) Progress Chef
13 2 (0.31%) Puppet
Vendors
1 142 (21.88%) Microsoft
2 30 (4.62%) Splunk
3 26 (4.01%) Cisco
3 26 (4.01%) ServiceNow
4 17 (2.62%) Remedy
5 16 (2.47%) CyberArk
5 16 (2.47%) IBM
6 13 (2.00%) CrowdStrike
6 13 (2.00%) Google
6 13 (2.00%) Oracle
7 11 (1.69%) Fortinet
8 10 (1.54%) Palo Alto
8 10 (1.54%) Rapid7
8 10 (1.54%) Salesforce
9 9 (1.39%) Qualys
9 9 (1.39%) SAP
9 9 (1.39%) Thales
10 8 (1.23%) Databricks
10 8 (1.23%) Gemalto
11 7 (1.08%) Sophos