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 7 April 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
7 Apr 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 178 178 119
Rank change year-on-year 0 -59 0
Contract jobs citing Information Security 688 453 855
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.51% 1.55% 1.95%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 1.77% 1.71% 2.26%
Number of daily rates quoted 405 281 553
10th Percentile £400 £319 £385
25th Percentile £463 £463 £481
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £550 £585 £575
Median % change year-on-year -5.98% +1.74% -4.17%
75th Percentile £675 £688 £688
90th Percentile £800 £825 £775
UK excluding London median daily rate £525 £550 £550
% change year-on-year -4.55% - -
Number of hourly rates quoted 63 26 35
10th Percentile £16.49 £16.16 £14.86
25th Percentile £20.71 £22.14 £17.86
Median hourly rate £28.00 £24.66 £19.50
Median % change year-on-year +13.54% +26.46% -73.10%
75th Percentile £64.88 £45.18 £48.75
90th Percentile £84.75 £81.18 £82.91
UK excluding London median hourly rate £27.16 £22.14 £19.50
% change year-on-year +22.67% +13.54% -74.00%

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 38,955 26,496 37,900
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 85.44% 90.55% 86.35%
Number of daily rates quoted 24,674 17,197 24,574
10th Percentile £314 £308 £300
25th Percentile £413 £413 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £525 £525
Median % change year-on-year -4.76% - -4.55%
75th Percentile £613 £638 £638
90th Percentile £725 £744 £750
UK excluding London median daily rate £487 £488 £500
% change year-on-year -0.10% -2.50% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,314 992 2,359
10th Percentile £15.00 £15.00 £12.75
25th Percentile £19.02 £19.87 £16.00
Median hourly rate £36.00 £31.51 £33.00
Median % change year-on-year +14.25% -4.52% -11.53%
75th Percentile £65.00 £63.75 £57.50
90th Percentile £77.50 £75.48 £70.39
UK excluding London median hourly rate £35.87 £30.00 £32.50
% change year-on-year +19.55% -7.69% -11.69%

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 7 April 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 7 April 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 7 April 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 0 613 £550 -6.38% 316
UK excluding London -11 326 £525 -4.55% 249
London +13 296 £590 -1.67% 106
Work from Home -6 187 £550 - 169
South East -10 113 £563 -6.25% 91
North of England -55 68 £512 -2.50% 64
Midlands -37 50 £520 +30.00% 32
East of England -7 44 £553 -7.83% 19
North West -21 42 £550 +2.33% 37
West Midlands -37 37 £545 +17.84% 24
South West -24 23 £500 -14.89% 25
Scotland +10 22 £358 -25.26% 12
Yorkshire -46 22 £482 +11.83% 18
East Midlands -23 13 £475 +58.33% 8
Wales -3 6 £338 +87.50% 7
North East -19 4 £450 -15.73% 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 17 (2.47%) Confluence
2 10 (1.45%) SharePoint
3 8 (1.16%) Microsoft Exchange
4 7 (1.02%) Oracle Collaboration Suite
5 4 (0.58%) Apache Spark
6 1 (0.15%) WebSphere
6 1 (0.15%) WebSphere Application Server
Applications
1 35 (5.09%) Microsoft Excel
2 30 (4.36%) Microsoft Office
3 14 (2.03%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 10 (1.45%) Microsoft Project
5 2 (0.29%) MS Visio
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
Business Applications
1 12 (1.74%) Oracle EBS
2 4 (0.58%) NEC Housing
3 2 (0.29%) SAP GRC
3 2 (0.29%) Temenos T24
4 1 (0.15%) Oracle Applications
4 1 (0.15%) Remedy ITSM
4 1 (0.15%) Salesforce CRM
Cloud Services
1 128 (18.60%) Azure
2 91 (13.23%) AWS
3 43 (6.25%) Microsoft 365
4 34 (4.94%) GCP
5 30 (4.36%) SaaS
6 26 (3.78%) Entra ID
7 24 (3.49%) Power Platform
8 17 (2.47%) GitHub
8 17 (2.47%) OCI
9 16 (2.33%) Microsoft Purview
10 9 (1.31%) Azure Sentinel
11 8 (1.16%) IaaS
11 8 (1.16%) Microsoft Copilot
11 8 (1.16%) PaaS
11 8 (1.16%) Power Automate
12 6 (0.87%) Azure Data Factory
12 6 (0.87%) Azure DevOps
12 6 (0.87%) Azure Logic Apps
12 6 (0.87%) PowerApps
13 5 (0.73%) Amazon S3
Communications & Networking
1 55 (7.99%) Firewall
2 35 (5.09%) Network Security
3 17 (2.47%) DNS
4 15 (2.18%) TCP/IP
4 15 (2.18%) Wireless
5 12 (1.74%) HTTP
5 12 (1.74%) VPN
6 10 (1.45%) WAN
7 9 (1.31%) DHCP
8 6 (0.87%) Internet
8 6 (0.87%) SSH
8 6 (0.87%) SSL
9 5 (0.73%) Cisco IPT
9 5 (0.73%) FTP
9 5 (0.73%) SMTP
10 4 (0.58%) LAN
10 4 (0.58%) SAN
10 4 (0.58%) Wi-Fi
11 3 (0.44%) OSPF
11 3 (0.44%) SD-WAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 22 (3.20%) Power BI
2 10 (1.45%) Data Warehouse
3 9 (1.31%) Metadata
3 9 (1.31%) SQL Server
4 8 (1.16%) Data Lake
5 4 (0.58%) Big Data
5 4 (0.58%) Hadoop
5 4 (0.58%) Oracle Reports
5 4 (0.58%) SQL Server Reporting Services
6 3 (0.44%) DynamoDB
6 3 (0.44%) NoSQL
6 3 (0.44%) PostgreSQL
6 3 (0.44%) Tableau
7 2 (0.29%) Amazon Redshift
7 2 (0.29%) Elasticsearch
7 2 (0.29%) Electronic Patient Records
7 2 (0.29%) MongoDB
7 2 (0.29%) Oracle BI Publisher
7 2 (0.29%) Power Query
7 2 (0.29%) Relational Database
Development Applications
1 23 (3.34%) JIRA
2 15 (2.18%) Burp Suite
3 12 (1.74%) Metasploit
4 9 (1.31%) Git
5 2 (0.29%) GitLab
6 1 (0.15%) AppScan
6 1 (0.15%) git-flow
6 1 (0.15%) Jenkins
6 1 (0.15%) ScriptRunner
6 1 (0.15%) SonarQube
General
1 214 (31.10%) Social Skills
2 136 (19.77%) Finance
3 96 (13.95%) Public Sector
4 87 (12.65%) Analytical Skills
5 68 (9.88%) Legal
6 52 (7.56%) Banking
7 23 (3.34%) Organisational Skills
8 16 (2.33%) Documentation Skills
8 16 (2.33%) Influencing Skills
9 15 (2.18%) Retail
10 12 (1.74%) Presentation Skills
11 10 (1.45%) Law
11 10 (1.45%) Telecoms
12 9 (1.31%) Police
13 8 (1.16%) Local Government
13 8 (1.16%) Manufacturing
14 6 (0.87%) Marketing
15 5 (0.73%) Cyber-Physical System
16 4 (0.58%) Aerospace
17 3 (0.44%) Military
Job Titles
1 106 (15.41%) Analyst
2 79 (11.48%) Consultant
3 60 (8.72%) Architect
4 52 (7.56%) Senior
5 48 (6.98%) Security Engineer
6 47 (6.83%) Security Consultant
7 44 (6.40%) Lead
7 44 (6.40%) Security Architect
8 43 (6.25%) Security Analyst
9 40 (5.81%) Security Manager
10 32 (4.65%) Security Officer
11 23 (3.34%) Developer
12 22 (3.20%) Project Manager
13 21 (3.05%) Security Specialist
14 20 (2.91%) Information Security Officer
15 18 (2.62%) Business Analyst
15 18 (2.62%) Information Analyst
15 18 (2.62%) Information Security Analyst
16 17 (2.47%) Cybersecurity Manager
17 15 (2.18%) Information Security Consultant
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 16 (2.33%) Oracle Fusion
2 15 (2.18%) OAuth
3 10 (1.45%) OAuth2
4 9 (1.31%) LDAP
4 9 (1.31%) OpenID
4 9 (1.31%) SAML
5 7 (1.02%) J2EE
5 7 (1.02%) JSP
5 7 (1.02%) Middleware
5 7 (1.02%) SailPoint
5 7 (1.02%) Spring
5 7 (1.02%) Spring Boot
6 5 (0.73%) Node.js
7 4 (0.58%) .NET
7 4 (0.58%) Elastic Stack
8 3 (0.44%) ADO
8 3 (0.44%) GraphQL
8 3 (0.44%) JWT
8 3 (0.44%) Kafka
8 3 (0.44%) REST
Miscellaneous
1 113 (16.42%) Management Information System
2 62 (9.01%) Security Posture
3 42 (6.10%) Onboarding
4 33 (4.80%) Operational Technology
5 19 (2.76%) Cyber Threat
5 19 (2.76%) Data Protection Act
6 16 (2.33%) Cloud Native
7 14 (2.03%) Data Centre
8 13 (1.89%) PKI
9 12 (1.74%) Insider Threat
9 12 (1.74%) Virtual Team
10 11 (1.60%) Analytical Mindset
10 11 (1.60%) BYOD
10 11 (1.60%) Mobile App
10 11 (1.60%) Product Ownership
10 11 (1.60%) Security Operations Centre
11 9 (1.31%) Legacy Systems
11 9 (1.31%) Public Cloud
12 8 (1.16%) CSOC
12 8 (1.16%) Enterprise Software
Operating Systems
1 62 (9.01%) Windows
2 34 (4.94%) Linux
3 23 (3.34%) Windows Server
4 8 (1.16%) Unix
5 3 (0.44%) Apple iOS
5 3 (0.44%) Kali Linux
5 3 (0.44%) zOS
6 2 (0.29%) Mac OS
7 1 (0.15%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
7 1 (0.15%) Windows 10
Processes & Methodologies
1 260 (37.79%) Cybersecurity
2 177 (25.73%) Risk Management
3 115 (16.72%) Problem-Solving
4 108 (15.70%) Continuous Improvement
5 106 (15.41%) Data Protection
6 102 (14.83%) Stakeholder Management
7 88 (12.79%) Cloud Security
8 80 (11.63%) Security Management
9 64 (9.30%) Agile
10 60 (8.72%) Stakeholder Engagement
11 59 (8.58%) Change Management
11 59 (8.58%) Incident Response
11 59 (8.58%) Information Security Management
12 57 (8.28%) Security Operations
13 55 (7.99%) Threat Modelling
14 54 (7.85%) AI
15 52 (7.56%) Risk Assessment
16 50 (7.27%) Roadmaps
17 49 (7.12%) Decision-Making
18 48 (6.98%) SIEM
Programming Languages
1 56 (8.14%) Python
2 34 (4.94%) PowerShell
3 25 (3.63%) Java
4 20 (2.91%) SQL
5 17 (2.47%) Bash
6 7 (1.02%) Kotlin
7 6 (0.87%) Kusto Query Language
8 5 (0.73%) Go
9 4 (0.58%) C#
10 3 (0.44%) RPG
11 2 (0.29%) Data Analysis Expressions
11 2 (0.29%) JavaScript
11 2 (0.29%) Rust
11 2 (0.29%) Solidity
12 1 (0.15%) Apex Code
12 1 (0.15%) BeanShell
12 1 (0.15%) Bicep
12 1 (0.15%) Lisp
12 1 (0.15%) R
12 1 (0.15%) TypeScript
Qualifications
1 194 (28.20%) Security Cleared
2 145 (21.08%) SC Cleared
3 126 (18.31%) Degree
4 121 (17.59%) CISSP
5 86 (12.50%) CISM
6 52 (7.56%) DV Cleared
7 32 (4.65%) CISA
8 29 (4.22%) Cisco Certification
9 25 (3.63%) Computer Science Degree
10 23 (3.34%) CRISC
11 22 (3.20%) (ISC)2 CCSP
12 20 (2.91%) CEH
13 18 (2.62%) Master's Degree
14 17 (2.47%) ISO 27001 Lead Auditor
15 16 (2.33%) CREST Certified
16 15 (2.18%) ISO 27001 Lead Implementer
16 15 (2.18%) Postgraduate
17 12 (1.74%) CompTIA Security+
17 12 (1.74%) CTC Cleared
18 11 (1.60%) Azure Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 219 (31.83%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 161 (23.40%) NIST
3 119 (17.30%) GDPR
4 83 (12.06%) GRC
5 50 (7.27%) PCI DSS
6 29 (4.22%) COBIT
6 29 (4.22%) NCSC
7 27 (3.92%) PMO
8 26 (3.78%) QA
9 23 (3.34%) Cyber Essentials
10 22 (3.20%) Data Quality
11 18 (2.62%) NIST 800
12 17 (2.47%) Sarbanes-Oxley
13 14 (2.03%) ISO/IEC 27005
13 14 (2.03%) SOC 2
14 11 (1.60%) Accessibility
15 10 (1.45%) JSP 440
16 9 (1.31%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
17 8 (1.16%) RMADS
18 7 (1.02%) Government Security Classifications
System Software
1 37 (5.38%) Active Directory
2 9 (1.31%) Docker
3 8 (1.16%) Virtual Machines
4 6 (0.87%) VMware Infrastructure
5 4 (0.58%) Hyper-V
6 1 (0.15%) BitLocker
6 1 (0.15%) Ceph
6 1 (0.15%) Firmware
6 1 (0.15%) RACF
6 1 (0.15%) Squid
6 1 (0.15%) VMware Workstation
Systems Management
1 19 (2.76%) Microsoft Intune
2 13 (1.89%) Kubernetes
2 13 (1.89%) Nmap
3 11 (1.60%) SCCM
3 11 (1.60%) Terraform
4 9 (1.31%) Ansible
5 6 (0.87%) QRadar
6 5 (0.73%) Functional Safety
6 5 (0.73%) Single Sign-On
7 4 (0.58%) WSUS
8 3 (0.44%) CASB
8 3 (0.44%) FortiGate
8 3 (0.44%) SCOrch
9 2 (0.29%) Nessus
9 2 (0.29%) Podman
9 2 (0.29%) Prometheus
9 2 (0.29%) Red Hat Satellite
10 1 (0.15%) Cisco CUCM
10 1 (0.15%) Progress Chef
10 1 (0.15%) RSA Archer
Vendors
1 103 (14.97%) Microsoft
2 35 (5.09%) ServiceNow
3 21 (3.05%) Oracle
4 15 (2.18%) Cisco
5 13 (1.89%) CyberArk
5 13 (1.89%) Google
6 9 (1.31%) CrowdStrike
7 8 (1.16%) Databricks
7 8 (1.16%) VMware
8 7 (1.02%) BeyondTrust
8 7 (1.02%) IBM
9 5 (0.73%) Fortinet
9 5 (0.73%) Qualys
9 5 (0.73%) Sophos
9 5 (0.73%) Splunk
10 4 (0.58%) Ariba
10 4 (0.58%) NEC
10 4 (0.58%) Palo Alto
10 4 (0.58%) SAP
10 4 (0.58%) UiPath