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

6 months to
2 Jul 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 191 178 113
Rank change year-on-year -13 -65 -8
Contract jobs citing Information Security 720 480 855
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.40% 1.55% 1.97%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 1.65% 1.71% 2.31%
Number of daily rates quoted 408 267 515
10th Percentile £358 £308 £375
25th Percentile £450 £413 £483
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £550 £535 £590
Median % change year-on-year +2.80% -9.32% -1.67%
75th Percentile £675 £688 £690
90th Percentile £800 £843 £800
UK excluding London median daily rate £525 £532 £600
% change year-on-year -1.32% -11.33% +9.09%
Number of hourly rates quoted 57 30 27
10th Percentile £15.59 - £12.75
25th Percentile £16.62 £22.14 £15.87
Median hourly rate £25.50 £24.66 £19.50
Median % change year-on-year +3.41% +26.46% -75.60%
75th Percentile £63.38 £60.89 £23.00
90th Percentile £77.50 £83.79 £30.37
UK excluding London median hourly rate £25.50 £25.15 £18.00
% change year-on-year +1.39% +39.72% -78.39%

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 43,739 28,136 37,017
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 84.99% 90.86% 85.29%
Number of daily rates quoted 27,189 17,763 23,600
10th Percentile £325 £300 £300
25th Percentile £415 £405 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £515 £505 £525
Median % change year-on-year +2.08% -3.90% -4.55%
75th Percentile £621 £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 2,627 1,381 2,550
10th Percentile £14.82 £14.20 £12.75
25th Percentile £20.00 £17.61 £16.06
Median hourly rate £43.96 £25.15 £37.50
Median % change year-on-year +74.79% -32.93% +3.45%
75th Percentile £68.00 £53.95 £61.30
90th Percentile £81.25 £70.00 £72.50
UK excluding London median hourly rate £43.96 £25.00 £38.12
% change year-on-year +75.84% -34.42% +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 July 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 July 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 July 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 -6 655 £550 +3.77% 460
UK excluding London -15 373 £525 -1.32% 312
London -12 303 £600 +14.29% 199
Work from Home -43 181 £565 +13.00% 216
South East -11 124 £538 -14.00% 92
North of England -44 87 £511 +20.30% 81
Midlands -17 58 £533 +33.13% 55
North West -19 58 £506 +18.98% 45
South West -10 45 £500 -14.53% 36
West Midlands -24 42 £500 - 35
Scotland +5 31 £358 -19.55% 6
East of England -10 27 £530 +6.64% 29
Yorkshire -42 25 £540 +30.91% 27
East Midlands -20 16 £557 +39.19% 20
North East -32 4 £450 -15.73% 9
Wales -12 3 £645 +55.42% 8

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 31 (4.31%) Confluence
2 25 (3.47%) SharePoint
3 8 (1.11%) Microsoft Exchange
4 5 (0.69%) IIS
5 4 (0.56%) Apache Spark
6 3 (0.42%) Oracle Collaboration Suite
7 1 (0.14%) Adobe Experience Manager
7 1 (0.14%) Palantir Foundry
Applications
1 31 (4.31%) Microsoft Office
2 25 (3.47%) Microsoft Excel
3 11 (1.53%) Microsoft PowerPoint
3 11 (1.53%) Microsoft Project
4 3 (0.42%) Spreadsheet
5 2 (0.28%) MS Visio
6 1 (0.14%) Adobe After Effects
6 1 (0.14%) Adobe Illustrator
6 1 (0.14%) Adobe Premiere
6 1 (0.14%) Camtasia
Business Applications
1 6 (0.83%) Remedy ITSM
2 5 (0.69%) Oracle EBS
3 4 (0.56%) Dynamics CRM
3 4 (0.56%) NEC Housing
4 2 (0.28%) Oracle ERP
4 2 (0.28%) SAP S/4HANA
5 1 (0.14%) Oracle Applications
5 1 (0.14%) SAP MDG
Cloud Services
1 157 (21.81%) Azure
2 107 (14.86%) AWS
3 51 (7.08%) Entra ID
4 40 (5.56%) Microsoft 365
4 40 (5.56%) SaaS
5 36 (5.00%) GCP
6 23 (3.19%) Microsoft Purview
7 20 (2.78%) Power Platform
8 19 (2.64%) GitHub
9 18 (2.50%) Azure Sentinel
10 16 (2.22%) OCI
11 10 (1.39%) Azure DevOps
12 9 (1.25%) IaaS
12 9 (1.25%) Microsoft Copilot
12 9 (1.25%) PaaS
13 7 (0.97%) Power Automate
14 6 (0.83%) Azure Key Vault
14 6 (0.83%) Azure Logic Apps
14 6 (0.83%) Cloud Computing
14 6 (0.83%) Serverless
Communications & Networking
1 39 (5.42%) Network Security
2 38 (5.28%) Firewall
3 12 (1.67%) SSH
3 12 (1.67%) VPN
4 10 (1.39%) DNS
4 10 (1.39%) TCP/IP
4 10 (1.39%) Wireless
5 9 (1.25%) HTTP
6 7 (0.97%) DHCP
6 7 (0.97%) HTTPS
7 6 (0.83%) Internet
7 6 (0.83%) WAN
8 5 (0.69%) Intrusion Detection
8 5 (0.69%) NGFW
9 4 (0.56%) LAN
10 3 (0.42%) Cisco IPT
11 2 (0.28%) Broadband
11 2 (0.28%) Multicast
11 2 (0.28%) NAS
11 2 (0.28%) Reverse Proxy
Database & Business Intelligence
1 18 (2.50%) SQL Server
2 17 (2.36%) Power BI
3 10 (1.39%) Metadata
4 5 (0.69%) Oracle Reports
5 4 (0.56%) Big Data
5 4 (0.56%) Data Lake
5 4 (0.56%) Hadoop
6 3 (0.42%) MongoDB
6 3 (0.42%) NoSQL
6 3 (0.42%) PostgreSQL
7 2 (0.28%) DynamoDB
7 2 (0.28%) Elasticsearch
7 2 (0.28%) MySQL
7 2 (0.28%) Oracle BI Publisher
8 1 (0.14%) MariaDB
8 1 (0.14%) Neo4j
8 1 (0.14%) Oracle Database
8 1 (0.14%) Relational Database
8 1 (0.14%) SAP HANA
8 1 (0.14%) Tableau
Development Applications
1 34 (4.72%) JIRA
2 10 (1.39%) Git
3 7 (0.97%) Burp Suite
4 5 (0.69%) Metasploit
5 4 (0.56%) Cypress.io
5 4 (0.56%) Postman
5 4 (0.56%) Selenium
5 4 (0.56%) WebDriver
6 3 (0.42%) git-flow
7 2 (0.28%) Cucumber
7 2 (0.28%) GitLab
7 2 (0.28%) JMeter
7 2 (0.28%) Protractor
8 1 (0.14%) AppScan
8 1 (0.14%) Atlassian Bamboo
8 1 (0.14%) Bitbucket
8 1 (0.14%) Jenkins
8 1 (0.14%) LSMW
8 1 (0.14%) SoapUI
8 1 (0.14%) SonarQube
General
1 244 (33.89%) Social Skills
2 164 (22.78%) Finance
3 116 (16.11%) Public Sector
4 75 (10.42%) Analytical Skills
5 62 (8.61%) Banking
6 60 (8.33%) Legal
7 40 (5.56%) Documentation Skills
8 26 (3.61%) Organisational Skills
9 22 (3.06%) Influencing Skills
10 20 (2.78%) Local Government
11 13 (1.81%) Presentation Skills
12 12 (1.67%) Retail
13 10 (1.39%) Billing
13 10 (1.39%) Inclusion and Diversity
14 9 (1.25%) Marketing
15 8 (1.11%) Aviation
16 7 (0.97%) Military
16 7 (0.97%) Pharmaceutical
17 6 (0.83%) Manufacturing
17 6 (0.83%) Telecoms
Job Titles
1 92 (12.78%) Analyst
2 78 (10.83%) Consultant
3 68 (9.44%) Senior
4 60 (8.33%) Security Consultant
5 56 (7.78%) Architect
5 56 (7.78%) Lead
6 54 (7.50%) Security Engineer
7 39 (5.42%) Security Architect
8 37 (5.14%) Security Analyst
9 36 (5.00%) Security Manager
10 29 (4.03%) Project Manager
11 27 (3.75%) IT Manager
12 25 (3.47%) Security Officer
13 21 (2.92%) Senior Manager
14 19 (2.64%) Cybersecurity Manager
14 19 (2.64%) Information Officer
15 18 (2.50%) Developer
16 17 (2.36%) Information Security Consultant
16 17 (2.36%) Information Security Officer
17 16 (2.22%) Cybersecurity Consultant
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 23 (3.19%) Oracle Fusion
2 22 (3.06%) OAuth
3 21 (2.92%) SailPoint
4 16 (2.22%) SAML
5 15 (2.08%) OAuth2
5 15 (2.08%) OpenID
6 13 (1.81%) LDAP
7 11 (1.53%) Web Services
8 9 (1.25%) REST
8 9 (1.25%) XML
9 8 (1.11%) .NET
10 7 (0.97%) J2EE
10 7 (0.97%) JSP
11 5 (0.69%) JSON
11 5 (0.69%) Middleware
11 5 (0.69%) Node.js
11 5 (0.69%) RESTful
12 4 (0.56%) ASP.NET
12 4 (0.56%) Gherkin
12 4 (0.56%) Kafka
Miscellaneous
1 119 (16.53%) Management Information System
2 72 (10.00%) Onboarding
3 61 (8.47%) Security Posture
4 36 (5.00%) Operational Technology
5 19 (2.64%) Cloud Native
5 19 (2.64%) Data Protection Act
6 17 (2.36%) Security Operations Centre
7 16 (2.22%) Data Centre
7 16 (2.22%) PKI
7 16 (2.22%) Self-Motivation
8 15 (2.08%) Cyber Threat
9 14 (1.94%) Enterprise Software
9 14 (1.94%) Virtual Team
10 13 (1.81%) Legacy Systems
11 12 (1.67%) SCADA
12 11 (1.53%) BYOD
12 11 (1.53%) Product Ownership
13 10 (1.39%) Public Cloud
14 8 (1.11%) Analytical Mindset
14 8 (1.11%) Mobile App
Operating Systems
1 81 (11.25%) Windows
2 45 (6.25%) Linux
3 33 (4.58%) Windows Server
4 22 (3.06%) Unix
5 10 (1.39%) Android
6 9 (1.25%) Apple iOS
7 8 (1.11%) Mac OS
8 4 (0.56%) Windows 10
9 3 (0.42%) zOS
10 2 (0.28%) Alpine Linux
10 2 (0.28%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
10 2 (0.28%) Ubuntu
11 1 (0.14%) Kali Linux
11 1 (0.14%) VMS
Processes & Methodologies
1 251 (34.86%) Cybersecurity
2 197 (27.36%) Risk Management
3 128 (17.78%) Data Protection
4 123 (17.08%) Continuous Improvement
5 120 (16.67%) Stakeholder Management
6 102 (14.17%) Problem-Solving
7 85 (11.81%) Agile
8 82 (11.39%) Cloud Security
9 79 (10.97%) Roadmaps
10 77 (10.69%) Security Operations
11 75 (10.42%) Change Management
12 73 (10.14%) Incident Response
13 72 (10.00%) Stakeholder Engagement
14 68 (9.44%) Decision-Making
15 64 (8.89%) Computer Science
16 60 (8.33%) AI
17 59 (8.19%) SIEM
18 57 (7.92%) ITIL
19 55 (7.64%) Security Management
20 52 (7.22%) DevOps
Programming Languages
1 81 (11.25%) Python
2 64 (8.89%) PowerShell
3 22 (3.06%) Java
4 20 (2.78%) Bash
5 18 (2.50%) SQL
6 8 (1.11%) C#
7 5 (0.69%) Bicep
7 5 (0.69%) JavaScript
7 5 (0.69%) Kusto Query Language
8 4 (0.56%) Apex Code
9 3 (0.42%) Go
9 3 (0.42%) Kotlin
9 3 (0.42%) RPG
10 2 (0.28%) PL/SQL
11 1 (0.14%) BeanShell
11 1 (0.14%) C++
11 1 (0.14%) Lisp
11 1 (0.14%) TypeScript
11 1 (0.14%) VBA
Qualifications
1 161 (22.36%) Security Cleared
2 150 (20.83%) Degree
3 131 (18.19%) CISSP
4 121 (16.81%) SC Cleared
5 84 (11.67%) CISM
6 42 (5.83%) DV Cleared
7 31 (4.31%) Cisco Certification
8 30 (4.17%) CISA
8 30 (4.17%) CRISC
9 26 (3.61%) (ISC)2 CCSP
10 22 (3.06%) Computer Science Degree
11 20 (2.78%) ISO 27001 Lead Implementer
12 17 (2.36%) CEH
13 16 (2.22%) Master's Degree
14 15 (2.08%) PMP
15 14 (1.94%) AWS Certification
15 14 (1.94%) ISO 27001 Lead Auditor
15 14 (1.94%) Microsoft Certification
15 14 (1.94%) PMI Certification
16 13 (1.81%) OSCP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 215 (29.86%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 155 (21.53%) NIST
3 121 (16.81%) GDPR
4 101 (14.03%) GRC
5 55 (7.64%) PCI DSS
6 34 (4.72%) Cyber Essentials
7 30 (4.17%) NCSC
8 23 (3.19%) Data Quality
9 20 (2.78%) COBIT
9 20 (2.78%) QA
10 19 (2.64%) NIST 800
10 19 (2.64%) Sarbanes-Oxley
10 19 (2.64%) SOC 2
11 17 (2.36%) PMO
12 16 (2.22%) Accessibility
13 15 (2.08%) HIPAA
13 15 (2.08%) SLA
14 12 (1.67%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
15 11 (1.53%) ISO/IEC 27005
16 9 (1.25%) Government Security Classifications
System Software
1 68 (9.44%) Active Directory
2 10 (1.39%) Docker
3 6 (0.83%) VMware Infrastructure
4 5 (0.69%) Hyper-V
5 3 (0.42%) OpenAM
5 3 (0.42%) Squid
6 2 (0.28%) Virtual Machines
6 2 (0.28%) Virtual Servers
7 1 (0.14%) BitLocker
7 1 (0.14%) Ceph
7 1 (0.14%) Firmware
7 1 (0.14%) RACF
Systems Management
1 16 (2.22%) Microsoft Intune
1 16 (2.22%) Terraform
2 14 (1.94%) Kubernetes
3 13 (1.81%) Ansible
4 12 (1.67%) Single Sign-On
5 7 (0.97%) SCCM
6 4 (0.56%) Nmap
6 4 (0.56%) QRadar
7 3 (0.42%) Active Directory Federation Services
7 3 (0.42%) Functional Safety
7 3 (0.42%) Podman
7 3 (0.42%) RSA Archer
8 2 (0.28%) Computer Incident Response Team
8 2 (0.28%) Prometheus
8 2 (0.28%) Red Hat Satellite
9 1 (0.14%) FortiGate
9 1 (0.14%) Host Intrusion Detection System
9 1 (0.14%) Nessus
9 1 (0.14%) Progress Chef
9 1 (0.14%) WSUS
Vendors
1 144 (20.00%) Microsoft
2 44 (6.11%) ServiceNow
3 38 (5.28%) Oracle
4 22 (3.06%) CyberArk
5 20 (2.78%) Google
6 19 (2.64%) BeyondTrust
7 16 (2.22%) SAP
8 15 (2.08%) Cisco
8 15 (2.08%) Splunk
9 14 (1.94%) Apple
10 12 (1.67%) Ariba
11 11 (1.53%) CrowdStrike
12 10 (1.39%) Palo Alto
13 7 (0.97%) IBM
13 7 (0.97%) Remedy
13 7 (0.97%) VMware
14 6 (0.83%) Computacenter
14 6 (0.83%) Thales
14 6 (0.83%) Zscaler
15 5 (0.69%) Okta