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 2 June 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
2 Jun 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 184 181 115
Rank change year-on-year -3 -66 -9
Contract jobs citing Information Security 689 450 844
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.41% 1.56% 1.96%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 1.67% 1.71% 2.29%
Number of daily rates quoted 417 271 525
10th Percentile £405 £313 £375
25th Percentile £463 £413 £481
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £550 £550 £595
Median % change year-on-year - -7.56% -0.83%
75th Percentile £675 £675 £690
90th Percentile £800 £825 £775
UK excluding London median daily rate £525 £534 £593
% change year-on-year -1.69% -9.87% +7.73%
Number of hourly rates quoted 48 25 22
10th Percentile £16.35 - £12.75
25th Percentile £18.23 £22.14 £17.79
Median hourly rate £29.72 £24.66 £19.50
Median % change year-on-year +20.51% +26.46% -74.00%
75th Percentile £67.84 £78.36 £23.00
90th Percentile £85.40 £82.59 £25.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £29.72 £26.34 £19.50
% change year-on-year +12.82% +35.08% -74.26%

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 41,283 26,327 36,811
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 84.64% 90.98% 85.49%
Number of daily rates quoted 25,781 16,819 23,635
10th Percentile £325 £300 £300
25th Percentile £413 £408 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £513 £513 £525
Median % change year-on-year - -2.38% -4.55%
75th Percentile £613 £625 £638
90th Percentile £725 £738 £750
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £475 £500
% change year-on-year +5.26% -5.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,472 1,115 2,532
10th Percentile £14.64 £14.20 £12.75
25th Percentile £19.91 £17.87 £16.00
Median hourly rate £42.50 £27.99 £36.50
Median % change year-on-year +51.84% -23.32% +0.29%
75th Percentile £67.84 £57.50 £60.75
90th Percentile £81.05 £74.50 £72.50
UK excluding London median hourly rate £45.00 £25.15 £38.12
% change year-on-year +78.93% -34.02% +8.91%

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 2 June 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 2 June 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 2 June 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 -11 625 £550 - 472
UK excluding London -6 343 £525 -1.69% 334
London +6 296 £593 +12.86% 207
Work from Home -25 174 £559 +6.48% 250
South East -6 126 £525 -15.66% 91
North of England -62 68 £540 +30.91% 85
Midlands -32 49 £550 +37.50% 46
North West -23 47 £550 +37.50% 50
South West -7 40 £500 -14.89% 45
West Midlands -35 37 £540 +35.00% 34
East of England -20 34 £575 - 21
Scotland +8 25 £387 -13.10% 47
Yorkshire -58 18 £500 +21.21% 31
East Midlands -28 12 £591 +47.63% 12
Wales -11 3 £645 +55.42% 3
North East -31 3 £450 -15.73% 4

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 (3.63%) Confluence
2 18 (2.61%) SharePoint
3 7 (1.02%) Microsoft Exchange
4 4 (0.58%) Apache Spark
4 4 (0.58%) IIS
4 4 (0.58%) Oracle Collaboration Suite
5 1 (0.15%) Adobe Experience Manager
5 1 (0.15%) Palantir Foundry
5 1 (0.15%) WebSphere
5 1 (0.15%) WebSphere Application Server
Applications
1 35 (5.08%) Microsoft Office
2 31 (4.50%) Microsoft Excel
3 15 (2.18%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 11 (1.60%) Microsoft Project
5 2 (0.29%) Spreadsheet
6 1 (0.15%) Adobe After Effects
6 1 (0.15%) Adobe Illustrator
6 1 (0.15%) Adobe Premiere
6 1 (0.15%) Camtasia
6 1 (0.15%) MS Visio
Business Applications
1 6 (0.87%) Oracle EBS
1 6 (0.87%) Remedy ITSM
2 4 (0.58%) NEC Housing
3 2 (0.29%) Temenos T24
4 1 (0.15%) Oracle Applications
Cloud Services
1 143 (20.75%) Azure
2 106 (15.38%) AWS
3 41 (5.95%) Entra ID
4 40 (5.81%) Microsoft 365
5 36 (5.22%) SaaS
6 33 (4.79%) GCP
7 26 (3.77%) Power Platform
8 20 (2.90%) Microsoft Purview
9 18 (2.61%) GitHub
10 15 (2.18%) Azure Sentinel
11 10 (1.45%) OCI
12 9 (1.31%) Microsoft Copilot
13 8 (1.16%) Power Automate
14 7 (1.02%) PowerApps
15 6 (0.87%) Azure Key Vault
15 6 (0.87%) Azure Logic Apps
15 6 (0.87%) IaaS
15 6 (0.87%) OneDrive
15 6 (0.87%) PaaS
16 5 (0.73%) AWS CloudFormation
Communications & Networking
1 42 (6.10%) Firewall
2 39 (5.66%) Network Security
3 13 (1.89%) HTTP
4 12 (1.74%) DNS
4 12 (1.74%) TCP/IP
4 12 (1.74%) VPN
5 11 (1.60%) Wireless
6 8 (1.16%) Internet
6 8 (1.16%) SSH
7 6 (0.87%) DHCP
7 6 (0.87%) HTTPS
7 6 (0.87%) Intrusion Detection
7 6 (0.87%) SSL
8 5 (0.73%) FTP
8 5 (0.73%) SMTP
9 4 (0.58%) WAN
10 3 (0.44%) Cisco IPT
10 3 (0.44%) NGFW
11 2 (0.29%) Multicast
11 2 (0.29%) NAS
Database & Business Intelligence
1 23 (3.34%) Power BI
2 13 (1.89%) SQL Server
3 9 (1.31%) Metadata
4 8 (1.16%) Data Warehouse
5 5 (0.73%) Data Lake
6 4 (0.58%) Big Data
6 4 (0.58%) Hadoop
6 4 (0.58%) Oracle Reports
7 3 (0.44%) MongoDB
7 3 (0.44%) NoSQL
7 3 (0.44%) PostgreSQL
7 3 (0.44%) SQL Server Reporting Services
8 2 (0.29%) DynamoDB
8 2 (0.29%) Elasticsearch
8 2 (0.29%) MySQL
8 2 (0.29%) Oracle BI Publisher
8 2 (0.29%) Tableau
9 1 (0.15%) Amazon RDS
9 1 (0.15%) Amazon Redshift
9 1 (0.15%) Electronic Patient Records
Development Applications
1 26 (3.77%) JIRA
2 11 (1.60%) Burp Suite
3 10 (1.45%) Git
4 9 (1.31%) Metasploit
5 3 (0.44%) git-flow
6 2 (0.29%) GitLab
6 2 (0.29%) JMeter
7 1 (0.15%) AppScan
7 1 (0.15%) Atlassian Bamboo
7 1 (0.15%) Bitbucket
7 1 (0.15%) ScriptRunner
7 1 (0.15%) SoapUI
7 1 (0.15%) SonarQube
General
1 224 (32.51%) Social Skills
2 151 (21.92%) Finance
3 103 (14.95%) Public Sector
4 82 (11.90%) Analytical Skills
5 63 (9.14%) Legal
6 58 (8.42%) Banking
7 30 (4.35%) Documentation Skills
8 26 (3.77%) Organisational Skills
9 19 (2.76%) Influencing Skills
10 14 (2.03%) Retail
11 13 (1.89%) Local Government
11 13 (1.89%) Presentation Skills
12 9 (1.31%) Marketing
13 7 (1.02%) Law
14 6 (0.87%) Billing
14 6 (0.87%) Pharmaceutical
14 6 (0.87%) Police
14 6 (0.87%) Telecoms
15 5 (0.73%) Cyber-Physical System
15 5 (0.73%) Investment Banking
Job Titles
1 95 (13.79%) Analyst
2 69 (10.01%) Consultant
3 60 (8.71%) Senior
4 58 (8.42%) Security Engineer
5 54 (7.84%) Architect
6 50 (7.26%) Security Consultant
7 47 (6.82%) Lead
8 39 (5.66%) Security Architect
9 36 (5.22%) Security Manager
10 33 (4.79%) Security Analyst
11 32 (4.64%) Security Officer
12 27 (3.92%) IT Manager
12 27 (3.92%) Project Manager
13 23 (3.34%) Senior Manager
14 22 (3.19%) Information Security Officer
15 19 (2.76%) Cybersecurity Manager
15 19 (2.76%) Developer
16 18 (2.61%) Business Analyst
17 15 (2.18%) Information Architect
17 15 (2.18%) Security Specialist
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 22 (3.19%) Oracle Fusion
2 19 (2.76%) OAuth
2 19 (2.76%) SailPoint
3 15 (2.18%) LDAP
4 13 (1.89%) OAuth2
5 12 (1.74%) OpenID
5 12 (1.74%) SAML
6 8 (1.16%) Web Services
7 7 (1.02%) .NET
7 7 (1.02%) J2EE
7 7 (1.02%) JSP
7 7 (1.02%) REST
8 6 (0.87%) Middleware
8 6 (0.87%) XML
9 5 (0.73%) Node.js
9 5 (0.73%) RESTful
10 4 (0.58%) Elastic Stack
10 4 (0.58%) Kafka
11 3 (0.44%) ASP.NET Core
11 3 (0.44%) Spring Boot
Miscellaneous
1 112 (16.26%) Management Information System
2 60 (8.71%) Security Posture
3 56 (8.13%) Onboarding
4 36 (5.22%) Operational Technology
5 22 (3.19%) Cyber Threat
6 18 (2.61%) Cloud Native
6 18 (2.61%) Security Operations Centre
7 16 (2.32%) Data Protection Act
8 13 (1.89%) Analytical Mindset
9 12 (1.74%) Data Centre
10 11 (1.60%) BYOD
10 11 (1.60%) CSOC
10 11 (1.60%) Enterprise Software
10 11 (1.60%) Legacy Systems
10 11 (1.60%) Product Ownership
11 10 (1.45%) SCADA
11 10 (1.45%) Virtual Team
12 9 (1.31%) Mobile App
12 9 (1.31%) PKI
12 9 (1.31%) Public Cloud
Operating Systems
1 82 (11.90%) Windows
2 44 (6.39%) Linux
3 33 (4.79%) Windows Server
4 17 (2.47%) Unix
5 8 (1.16%) Android
5 8 (1.16%) Apple iOS
6 7 (1.02%) Mac OS
7 4 (0.58%) Windows 10
8 3 (0.44%) zOS
9 2 (0.29%) Alpine Linux
9 2 (0.29%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
9 2 (0.29%) Ubuntu
10 1 (0.15%) Kali Linux
Processes & Methodologies
1 246 (35.70%) Cybersecurity
2 183 (26.56%) Risk Management
3 119 (17.27%) Continuous Improvement
4 115 (16.69%) Data Protection
5 106 (15.38%) Stakeholder Management
6 102 (14.80%) Problem-Solving
7 80 (11.61%) Cloud Security
8 79 (11.47%) Agile
9 74 (10.74%) Security Operations
10 72 (10.45%) Incident Response
11 70 (10.16%) Roadmaps
12 67 (9.72%) Change Management
13 66 (9.58%) Decision-Making
14 62 (9.00%) Security Management
14 62 (9.00%) SIEM
14 62 (9.00%) Stakeholder Engagement
15 61 (8.85%) AI
16 60 (8.71%) Computer Science
17 54 (7.84%) Threat Modelling
18 50 (7.26%) Analytics
Programming Languages
1 84 (12.19%) Python
2 67 (9.72%) PowerShell
3 22 (3.19%) Java
4 21 (3.05%) Bash
5 14 (2.03%) SQL
6 6 (0.87%) C#
6 6 (0.87%) Kusto Query Language
7 5 (0.73%) Bicep
8 4 (0.58%) Go
9 3 (0.44%) JavaScript
9 3 (0.44%) Kotlin
9 3 (0.44%) RPG
10 2 (0.29%) Apex Code
11 1 (0.15%) BeanShell
11 1 (0.15%) C++
11 1 (0.15%) Lisp
11 1 (0.15%) TypeScript
11 1 (0.15%) VBA
Qualifications
1 179 (25.98%) Security Cleared
2 146 (21.19%) Degree
3 136 (19.74%) SC Cleared
4 126 (18.29%) CISSP
5 87 (12.63%) CISM
6 48 (6.97%) DV Cleared
7 35 (5.08%) CISA
8 30 (4.35%) Cisco Certification
8 30 (4.35%) CRISC
9 25 (3.63%) (ISC)2 CCSP
10 23 (3.34%) Computer Science Degree
11 16 (2.32%) CEH
11 16 (2.32%) ISO 27001 Lead Implementer
12 14 (2.03%) AWS Certification
12 14 (2.03%) CREST Certified
12 14 (2.03%) ISO 27001 Lead Auditor
13 13 (1.89%) Master's Degree
13 13 (1.89%) PMP
14 12 (1.74%) GIAC
14 12 (1.74%) PMI Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 211 (30.62%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 147 (21.34%) NIST
3 113 (16.40%) GDPR
4 90 (13.06%) GRC
5 52 (7.55%) PCI DSS
6 28 (4.06%) Cyber Essentials
7 26 (3.77%) NCSC
8 25 (3.63%) COBIT
9 22 (3.19%) PMO
9 22 (3.19%) Sarbanes-Oxley
10 21 (3.05%) Data Quality
10 21 (3.05%) QA
11 17 (2.47%) NIST 800
11 17 (2.47%) SOC 2
12 13 (1.89%) HIPAA
13 12 (1.74%) ISO/IEC 27005
13 12 (1.74%) SLA
14 11 (1.60%) Accessibility
15 8 (1.16%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
15 8 (1.16%) Government Security Classifications
System Software
1 57 (8.27%) Active Directory
2 9 (1.31%) Docker
3 5 (0.73%) Hyper-V
3 5 (0.73%) VMware Infrastructure
4 4 (0.58%) Virtual Machines
5 3 (0.44%) Squid
6 2 (0.29%) Virtual Servers
7 1 (0.15%) BitLocker
7 1 (0.15%) Ceph
7 1 (0.15%) Firmware
7 1 (0.15%) RACF
Systems Management
1 15 (2.18%) Terraform
2 14 (2.03%) Microsoft Intune
3 12 (1.74%) Kubernetes
4 11 (1.60%) Ansible
5 8 (1.16%) Nmap
5 8 (1.16%) SCCM
5 8 (1.16%) Single Sign-On
6 5 (0.73%) Functional Safety
6 5 (0.73%) QRadar
7 3 (0.44%) Podman
7 3 (0.44%) WSUS
8 2 (0.29%) Computer Incident Response Team
8 2 (0.29%) FortiGate
8 2 (0.29%) Prometheus
8 2 (0.29%) Red Hat Satellite
8 2 (0.29%) RSA Archer
9 1 (0.15%) CASB
9 1 (0.15%) Host Intrusion Detection System
9 1 (0.15%) HP Fortify
9 1 (0.15%) logstash
Vendors
1 123 (17.85%) Microsoft
2 37 (5.37%) ServiceNow
3 29 (4.21%) Oracle
4 23 (3.34%) Google
5 21 (3.05%) CyberArk
6 17 (2.47%) BeyondTrust
7 15 (2.18%) Cisco
7 15 (2.18%) CrowdStrike
8 13 (1.89%) SAP
9 12 (1.74%) Ariba
10 11 (1.60%) Splunk
11 10 (1.45%) Apple
12 9 (1.31%) IBM
13 7 (1.02%) Remedy
14 6 (0.87%) Palo Alto
14 6 (0.87%) Qualys
14 6 (0.87%) VMware
15 5 (0.73%) Okta
16 4 (0.58%) Tenable
16 4 (0.58%) UiPath