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

6 months to
7 Feb 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 166 150 103
Rank change year-on-year -16 -47 +15
Contract jobs citing Information Security 640 548 984
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.64% 1.76% 2.18%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 1.88% 1.97% 2.50%
Number of daily rates quoted 349 312 672
10th Percentile £350 £356 £385
25th Percentile £450 £479 £475
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £538 £600 £574
Median % change year-on-year -10.42% +4.58% -4.38%
75th Percentile £645 £688 £675
90th Percentile £771 £800 £775
UK excluding London median daily rate £500 £575 £550
% change year-on-year -13.04% +4.55% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 76 17 59
10th Percentile £17.27 £16.18 £16.62
25th Percentile £20.71 £20.19 £19.25
Median hourly rate £33.50 £24.18 £44.50
Median % change year-on-year +38.54% -45.66% -31.54%
75th Percentile £46.64 £36.75 £83.40
90th Percentile £80.43 £46.43 -
UK excluding London median hourly rate £30.75 £22.09 £45.00
% change year-on-year +39.20% -50.91% -33.58%

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 33,986 27,793 39,321
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 87.08% 89.38% 87.05%
Number of daily rates quoted 21,549 16,924 25,862
10th Percentile £306 £306 £300
25th Percentile £406 £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 £716 £738 £738
UK excluding London median daily rate £477 £496 £500
% change year-on-year -3.88% -0.80% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,070 859 2,130
10th Percentile £14.50 £15.62 £13.29
25th Percentile £17.69 £21.00 £16.35
Median hourly rate £25.15 £32.50 £35.00
Median % change year-on-year -22.62% -7.14% +7.69%
75th Percentile £58.75 £63.50 £61.13
90th Percentile £70.00 £75.00 £73.75
UK excluding London median hourly rate £25.15 £31.51 £35.00
% change year-on-year -20.20% -9.97% +11.43%

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 February 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 February 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 February 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 -25 570 £538 -10.42% 322
UK excluding London -25 314 £500 -13.04% 245
London -1 258 £565 -5.83% 116
Work from Home +4 187 £539 +2.62% 160
South East -16 95 £550 -8.33% 82
North of England -49 66 £500 -4.76% 69
Midlands -40 46 £425 -24.11% 33
North West -26 43 £500 -4.76% 47
East of England +2 41 £544 -9.33% 20
South West -11 41 £475 -29.63% 36
West Midlands -46 28 £444 -30.26% 19
Scotland +12 20 £358 -24.95% 7
Yorkshire -43 19 £494 +1.28% 16
East Midlands -14 18 £400 +33.33% 14
Wales +5 5 £388 - 4
North East -15 4 £550 - 6

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 (3.59%) SharePoint
2 18 (2.81%) Confluence
3 15 (2.34%) Microsoft Exchange
4 7 (1.09%) Mattermost
4 7 (1.09%) Skype for Business
5 5 (0.78%) Oracle Collaboration Suite
6 3 (0.47%) Apache Spark
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 54 (8.44%) Microsoft Office
2 31 (4.84%) Microsoft Excel
3 13 (2.03%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 7 (1.09%) Microsoft Project
5 3 (0.47%) MS Visio
5 3 (0.47%) Navisworks
5 3 (0.47%) Revit
6 2 (0.31%) ProjectWise
6 2 (0.31%) Spreadsheet
7 1 (0.16%) Adobe After Effects
7 1 (0.16%) Adobe Illustrator
7 1 (0.16%) Adobe Premiere
7 1 (0.16%) Camtasia
Business Applications
1 15 (2.34%) Remedy ITSM
2 10 (1.56%) Oracle EBS
3 2 (0.31%) assyst
3 2 (0.31%) NEC Housing
3 2 (0.31%) SAP GRC
3 2 (0.31%) Temenos T24
4 1 (0.16%) Salesforce CRM
Cloud Services
1 111 (17.34%) Azure
2 77 (12.03%) AWS
3 41 (6.41%) Microsoft 365
4 30 (4.69%) GCP
5 27 (4.22%) Entra ID
6 21 (3.28%) SaaS
7 20 (3.13%) Power Platform
8 13 (2.03%) OCI
9 12 (1.88%) Azure Sentinel
9 12 (1.88%) Microsoft Purview
10 10 (1.56%) OneDrive
11 9 (1.41%) GitHub
12 7 (1.09%) IaaS
12 7 (1.09%) PaaS
13 6 (0.94%) Azure DevOps
13 6 (0.94%) Power Automate
14 5 (0.78%) Amazon S3
14 5 (0.78%) AWS CloudFormation
14 5 (0.78%) Cloud Computing
14 5 (0.78%) PowerApps
Communications & Networking
1 65 (10.16%) Firewall
2 28 (4.38%) Network Security
3 20 (3.13%) TCP/IP
4 19 (2.97%) DNS
5 13 (2.03%) WAN
6 12 (1.88%) Wireless
7 10 (1.56%) DHCP
7 10 (1.56%) HTTP
7 10 (1.56%) Internet
7 10 (1.56%) SSH
8 9 (1.41%) VPN
9 8 (1.25%) Intrusion Detection
10 7 (1.09%) Skype
10 7 (1.09%) SMTP
10 7 (1.09%) Wi-Fi
11 6 (0.94%) SSL
12 5 (0.78%) FTP
12 5 (0.78%) SAN
13 4 (0.63%) LAN
14 3 (0.47%) MPLS
Database & Business Intelligence
1 18 (2.81%) Power BI
2 10 (1.56%) Data Warehouse
3 7 (1.09%) Metadata
4 6 (0.94%) GIS
5 5 (0.78%) SQL Server
6 4 (0.63%) Big Data
6 4 (0.63%) Data Lake
6 4 (0.63%) SQL Server Reporting Services
7 3 (0.47%) Hadoop
7 3 (0.47%) NoSQL
7 3 (0.47%) Tableau
8 2 (0.31%) Amazon Redshift
8 2 (0.31%) BigQuery
8 2 (0.31%) DB2
8 2 (0.31%) DynamoDB
8 2 (0.31%) Elasticsearch
8 2 (0.31%) Electronic Patient Records
8 2 (0.31%) MongoDB
8 2 (0.31%) Power Query
8 2 (0.31%) Relational Database
Development Applications
1 22 (3.44%) JIRA
2 13 (2.03%) Burp Suite
3 11 (1.72%) Git
4 10 (1.56%) Metasploit
5 4 (0.63%) Jenkins
6 3 (0.47%) Artifactory
7 2 (0.31%) Atlassian Bamboo
7 2 (0.31%) GitLab
8 1 (0.16%) AppScan
8 1 (0.16%) Balsamiq
8 1 (0.16%) GCC
8 1 (0.16%) MSI
8 1 (0.16%) ScriptRunner
8 1 (0.16%) SonarQube
General
1 232 (36.25%) Social Skills
2 130 (20.31%) Finance
3 85 (13.28%) Public Sector
4 81 (12.66%) Analytical Skills
5 56 (8.75%) Legal
6 42 (6.56%) Banking
7 32 (5.00%) Organisational Skills
8 20 (3.13%) Presentation Skills
9 18 (2.81%) Telecoms
10 15 (2.34%) Manufacturing
11 14 (2.19%) Influencing Skills
12 13 (2.03%) Documentation Skills
13 7 (1.09%) Investment Banking
13 7 (1.09%) Law
13 7 (1.09%) Marketing
13 7 (1.09%) Retail
14 6 (0.94%) Local Government
14 6 (0.94%) Military
14 6 (0.94%) Police
14 6 (0.94%) Spanish Language
Job Titles
1 134 (20.94%) Analyst
2 60 (9.38%) Consultant
3 45 (7.03%) Senior
4 44 (6.88%) Architect
5 42 (6.56%) Security Analyst
6 40 (6.25%) Security Engineer
7 34 (5.31%) Lead
7 34 (5.31%) Security Manager
8 31 (4.84%) Support Analyst
9 27 (4.22%) Security Officer
10 26 (4.06%) Security Architect
11 23 (3.59%) Security Consultant
12 22 (3.44%) Security Specialist
13 21 (3.28%) Information Analyst
13 21 (3.28%) Information Security Analyst
14 17 (2.66%) Project Manager
15 16 (2.50%) Developer
16 15 (2.34%) Information Security Manager
16 15 (2.34%) Security Advisor
17 14 (2.19%) IT Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 12 (1.88%) OAuth
2 11 (1.72%) Middleware
3 10 (1.56%) Oracle Fusion
3 10 (1.56%) SailPoint
3 10 (1.56%) SAML
4 9 (1.41%) LDAP
4 9 (1.41%) OpenID
5 8 (1.25%) OAuth2
6 6 (0.94%) Qt
7 4 (0.63%) Node.js
7 4 (0.63%) Spring
7 4 (0.63%) Spring Boot
8 3 (0.47%) .NET
8 3 (0.47%) ADO
8 3 (0.47%) J2EE
8 3 (0.47%) JSP
8 3 (0.47%) JWT
8 3 (0.47%) ModSecurity
8 3 (0.47%) RESTful
9 2 (0.31%) Keycloak
Miscellaneous
1 121 (18.91%) Management Information System
2 77 (12.03%) Security Posture
3 29 (4.53%) Cyber Threat
4 23 (3.59%) Operational Technology
5 20 (3.13%) Onboarding
6 19 (2.97%) PKI
7 16 (2.50%) Data Protection Act
8 15 (2.34%) Data Centre
8 15 (2.34%) Insider Threat
9 12 (1.88%) Cloud Native
9 12 (1.88%) Product Ownership
9 12 (1.88%) Security Operations Centre
10 10 (1.56%) Analytical Mindset
11 9 (1.41%) Greenfield Project
12 8 (1.25%) CSOC
12 8 (1.25%) Legacy Systems
12 8 (1.25%) Mobile App
12 8 (1.25%) NHS
12 8 (1.25%) Tandem
12 8 (1.25%) Virtual Team
Operating Systems
1 68 (10.63%) Windows
2 43 (6.72%) Linux
3 16 (2.50%) Windows Server
4 14 (2.19%) Unix
5 3 (0.47%) Kali Linux
5 3 (0.47%) Mac OS
5 3 (0.47%) zOS
6 2 (0.31%) Windows 10
7 1 (0.16%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
7 1 (0.16%) VMS
Processes & Methodologies
1 216 (33.75%) Cybersecurity
2 159 (24.84%) Risk Management
3 113 (17.66%) Problem-Solving
4 104 (16.25%) Data Protection
5 98 (15.31%) Continuous Improvement
6 97 (15.16%) Stakeholder Management
7 80 (12.50%) Incident Response
8 71 (11.09%) Cloud Security
9 66 (10.31%) ITIL
9 66 (10.31%) Security Management
10 58 (9.06%) Agile
11 56 (8.75%) Stakeholder Engagement
12 51 (7.97%) Computer Science
12 51 (7.97%) SIEM
13 49 (7.66%) Security Operations
14 47 (7.34%) Information Security Management
15 44 (6.88%) Change Management
15 44 (6.88%) Incident Management
15 44 (6.88%) Threat Modelling
16 42 (6.56%) Regulatory Compliance
Programming Languages
1 54 (8.44%) Python
2 46 (7.19%) PowerShell
3 34 (5.31%) SQL
4 14 (2.19%) Java
5 11 (1.72%) Bash
6 6 (0.94%) C++
7 5 (0.78%) Go
8 4 (0.63%) Kotlin
8 4 (0.63%) Kusto Query Language
9 3 (0.47%) RPG
10 2 (0.31%) C#
10 2 (0.31%) Data Analysis Expressions
10 2 (0.31%) R
10 2 (0.31%) Rust
10 2 (0.31%) Solidity
11 1 (0.16%) JavaScript
11 1 (0.16%) Lisp
11 1 (0.16%) TypeScript
11 1 (0.16%) VBA
11 1 (0.16%) VBScript
Qualifications
1 183 (28.59%) Security Cleared
2 137 (21.41%) SC Cleared
3 120 (18.75%) Degree
4 94 (14.69%) CISSP
5 72 (11.25%) CISM
6 46 (7.19%) DV Cleared
7 41 (6.41%) Computer Science Degree
8 28 (4.38%) Master's Degree
9 25 (3.91%) CISA
10 21 (3.28%) BPSS Clearance
10 21 (3.28%) ITIL Certification
11 17 (2.66%) Cisco Certification
11 17 (2.66%) CRISC
11 17 (2.66%) ISO 27001 Lead Implementer
12 12 (1.88%) CREST Certified
12 12 (1.88%) CTC Cleared
12 12 (1.88%) ISO 27001 Lead Auditor
12 12 (1.88%) Postgraduate
13 11 (1.72%) (ISC)2 CCSP
13 11 (1.72%) CompTIA Security+
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 195 (30.47%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 138 (21.56%) NIST
3 102 (15.94%) GDPR
4 67 (10.47%) GRC
5 35 (5.47%) PCI DSS
6 26 (4.06%) NCSC
7 25 (3.91%) Cyber Essentials
8 24 (3.75%) COBIT
9 22 (3.44%) PMO
9 22 (3.44%) QA
10 17 (2.66%) Accessibility
11 14 (2.19%) Data Quality
11 14 (2.19%) Def Stans
12 13 (2.03%) NIST 800
12 13 (2.03%) Sarbanes-Oxley
13 11 (1.72%) JSP 440
13 11 (1.72%) RMADS
14 10 (1.56%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
15 9 (1.41%) ISO/IEC 27005
16 8 (1.25%) SLA
System Software
1 51 (7.97%) Active Directory
2 14 (2.19%) Virtual Machines
3 6 (0.94%) Docker
4 3 (0.47%) VMware Infrastructure
5 1 (0.16%) BitLocker
5 1 (0.16%) Microsoft App-V
5 1 (0.16%) Virtual Desktop
5 1 (0.16%) VMware Workstation
Systems Management
1 22 (3.44%) Microsoft Intune
2 15 (2.34%) HP SiteScope
2 15 (2.34%) SCOM
3 14 (2.19%) SCCM
4 13 (2.03%) Kubernetes
5 11 (1.72%) Nmap
6 10 (1.56%) Terraform
7 9 (1.41%) Ansible
7 9 (1.41%) QRadar
8 6 (0.94%) CASB
8 6 (0.94%) SCOrch
9 5 (0.78%) Functional Safety
9 5 (0.78%) WSUS
10 4 (0.63%) FortiGate
11 3 (0.47%) Prometheus
11 3 (0.47%) Single Sign-On
12 2 (0.31%) EnCase
12 2 (0.31%) FTK
12 2 (0.31%) Jamf Pro
12 2 (0.31%) RSA Archer
Vendors
1 127 (19.84%) Microsoft
2 24 (3.75%) Splunk
3 23 (3.59%) ServiceNow
4 22 (3.44%) Cisco
5 17 (2.66%) Remedy
6 16 (2.50%) Google
7 14 (2.19%) CyberArk
8 13 (2.03%) Oracle
9 12 (1.88%) IBM
10 10 (1.56%) CrowdStrike
10 10 (1.56%) Fortinet
11 9 (1.41%) Thales
12 8 (1.25%) Gemalto
13 7 (1.09%) Databricks
13 7 (1.09%) Palo Alto
13 7 (1.09%) Salesforce
13 7 (1.09%) SAP
14 6 (0.94%) Qualys
14 6 (0.94%) Sophos
15 5 (0.78%) Rapid7