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

6 months to
24 Apr 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 185 171 112
Rank change year-on-year -14 -59 -5
Contract jobs citing Information Security 683 465 873
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.47% 1.57% 2.00%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 1.73% 1.73% 2.32%
Number of daily rates quoted 410 285 545
10th Percentile £400 £313 £375
25th Percentile £463 £438 £481
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £550 £550 £575
Median % change year-on-year - -4.35% -4.17%
75th Percentile £675 £675 £688
90th Percentile £800 £820 £775
UK excluding London median daily rate £525 £550 £573
% change year-on-year -4.55% -3.93% +4.09%
Number of hourly rates quoted 54 26 32
10th Percentile £16.56 £19.13 £13.08
25th Percentile £20.73 £22.14 £17.72
Median hourly rate £35.00 £24.66 £19.50
Median % change year-on-year +41.93% +26.46% -74.00%
75th Percentile £65.44 £70.91 £40.69
90th Percentile £84.91 £82.38 £50.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £32.00 £23.65 £19.50
% change year-on-year +35.34% +21.26% -74.51%

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 39,397 26,809 37,691
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 84.78% 90.76% 86.34%
Number of daily rates quoted 24,864 17,328 24,353
10th Percentile £319 £308 £300
25th Percentile £413 £413 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £523 £525
Median % change year-on-year -4.31% -0.48% -4.55%
75th Percentile £613 £630 £638
90th Percentile £725 £739 £750
UK excluding London median daily rate £485 £485 £500
% change year-on-year - -3.00% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,354 1,060 2,429
10th Percentile £14.96 £14.83 £12.75
25th Percentile £19.91 £18.51 £16.00
Median hourly rate £40.00 £29.07 £35.00
Median % change year-on-year +37.60% -16.94% -6.67%
75th Percentile £65.60 £62.24 £58.75
90th Percentile £78.75 £75.00 £71.98
UK excluding London median hourly rate £41.56 £28.00 £35.00
% change year-on-year +48.41% -20.00% -6.17%

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 24 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 24 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 24 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 +3 615 £550 -3.42% 287
UK excluding London +4 325 £525 -4.55% 245
London +2 298 £598 +8.64% 114
Work from Home -18 180 £559 +6.48% 173
South East -3 121 £550 -8.33% 79
North of England -53 62 £500 -2.44% 52
Midlands -28 48 £520 +30.00% 39
East of England -4 43 £535 -10.83% 14
North West -22 41 £550 +3.76% 31
West Midlands -35 36 £520 +12.43% 27
South West -25 26 £500 -14.89% 26
Scotland +6 21 £358 -25.26% 39
Yorkshire -47 18 £463 +7.25% 17
East Midlands -27 12 £541 +80.17% 11
Wales -9 4 £475 +163.89% 3
North East -20 3 £450 -15.73% 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 18 (2.64%) Confluence
2 11 (1.61%) SharePoint
3 9 (1.32%) Microsoft Exchange
4 7 (1.02%) Oracle Collaboration Suite
5 4 (0.59%) Apache Spark
6 1 (0.15%) WebSphere
6 1 (0.15%) WebSphere Application Server
Applications
1 36 (5.27%) Microsoft Excel
2 35 (5.12%) Microsoft Office
3 15 (2.20%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 10 (1.46%) 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 (1.76%) Oracle EBS
2 4 (0.59%) NEC Housing
3 2 (0.29%) Remedy ITSM
3 2 (0.29%) SAP GRC
3 2 (0.29%) Temenos T24
4 1 (0.15%) Oracle Applications
4 1 (0.15%) Salesforce CRM
Cloud Services
1 135 (19.77%) Azure
2 92 (13.47%) AWS
3 47 (6.88%) Microsoft 365
4 35 (5.12%) SaaS
5 32 (4.69%) Entra ID
6 31 (4.54%) GCP
7 25 (3.66%) Power Platform
8 19 (2.78%) Microsoft Purview
9 17 (2.49%) GitHub
10 16 (2.34%) OCI
11 12 (1.76%) Azure Sentinel
12 8 (1.17%) IaaS
12 8 (1.17%) Microsoft Copilot
12 8 (1.17%) PaaS
12 8 (1.17%) Power Automate
13 6 (0.88%) Azure Data Factory
13 6 (0.88%) Azure DevOps
13 6 (0.88%) Azure Logic Apps
13 6 (0.88%) OneDrive
13 6 (0.88%) PowerApps
Communications & Networking
1 51 (7.47%) Firewall
2 41 (6.00%) Network Security
3 16 (2.34%) DNS
4 15 (2.20%) TCP/IP
4 15 (2.20%) Wireless
5 13 (1.90%) HTTP
5 13 (1.90%) VPN
6 7 (1.02%) DHCP
6 7 (1.02%) SSH
6 7 (1.02%) WAN
7 6 (0.88%) SSL
8 5 (0.73%) Cisco IPT
8 5 (0.73%) FTP
8 5 (0.73%) Internet
8 5 (0.73%) SMTP
9 3 (0.44%) Intrusion Detection
9 3 (0.44%) SAN
9 3 (0.44%) SD-WAN
10 2 (0.29%) MPLS
10 2 (0.29%) Wi-Fi
Database & Business Intelligence
1 23 (3.37%) Power BI
2 13 (1.90%) SQL Server
3 10 (1.46%) Data Warehouse
4 9 (1.32%) Metadata
5 6 (0.88%) Data Lake
6 4 (0.59%) Big Data
6 4 (0.59%) Hadoop
6 4 (0.59%) Oracle Reports
6 4 (0.59%) SQL Server Reporting Services
7 3 (0.44%) DynamoDB
7 3 (0.44%) NoSQL
7 3 (0.44%) PostgreSQL
7 3 (0.44%) Tableau
8 2 (0.29%) Elasticsearch
8 2 (0.29%) Electronic Patient Records
8 2 (0.29%) MongoDB
8 2 (0.29%) MySQL
8 2 (0.29%) Oracle BI Publisher
8 2 (0.29%) Power Query
8 2 (0.29%) Relational Database
Development Applications
1 22 (3.22%) JIRA
2 14 (2.05%) Burp Suite
3 12 (1.76%) Metasploit
4 9 (1.32%) Git
5 2 (0.29%) GitLab
6 1 (0.15%) AppScan
6 1 (0.15%) Atlassian Bamboo
6 1 (0.15%) Bitbucket
6 1 (0.15%) git-flow
6 1 (0.15%) Jenkins
6 1 (0.15%) ScriptRunner
6 1 (0.15%) SoapUI
6 1 (0.15%) SonarQube
General
1 208 (30.45%) Social Skills
2 136 (19.91%) Finance
3 99 (14.49%) Public Sector
4 90 (13.18%) Analytical Skills
5 67 (9.81%) Legal
6 57 (8.35%) Banking
7 26 (3.81%) Documentation Skills
7 26 (3.81%) Organisational Skills
8 19 (2.78%) Influencing Skills
9 14 (2.05%) Retail
10 12 (1.76%) Local Government
10 12 (1.76%) Presentation Skills
11 10 (1.46%) Telecoms
12 9 (1.32%) Law
13 7 (1.02%) Police
14 6 (0.88%) Manufacturing
14 6 (0.88%) Marketing
15 5 (0.73%) Cyber-Physical System
16 4 (0.59%) Military
17 3 (0.44%) Fire and Rescue
Job Titles
1 103 (15.08%) Analyst
2 83 (12.15%) Consultant
3 55 (8.05%) Architect
4 53 (7.76%) Security Engineer
5 52 (7.61%) Security Consultant
5 52 (7.61%) Senior
6 44 (6.44%) Lead
7 42 (6.15%) Security Analyst
8 41 (6.00%) Security Architect
9 40 (5.86%) Security Manager
10 33 (4.83%) Security Officer
11 25 (3.66%) Project Manager
12 24 (3.51%) Developer
13 21 (3.07%) Business Analyst
13 21 (3.07%) Information Security Officer
14 19 (2.78%) Security Specialist
15 18 (2.64%) IT Manager
16 17 (2.49%) Cybersecurity Manager
16 17 (2.49%) Information Analyst
16 17 (2.49%) Information Security Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 21 (3.07%) OAuth
2 16 (2.34%) Oracle Fusion
3 15 (2.20%) LDAP
3 15 (2.20%) OAuth2
3 15 (2.20%) SAML
4 14 (2.05%) OpenID
5 13 (1.90%) SailPoint
6 7 (1.02%) J2EE
6 7 (1.02%) JSP
6 7 (1.02%) Spring
6 7 (1.02%) Spring Boot
7 6 (0.88%) Middleware
7 6 (0.88%) Web Services
8 5 (0.73%) Node.js
9 4 (0.59%) .NET
9 4 (0.59%) Elastic Stack
10 3 (0.44%) ADO
10 3 (0.44%) JWT
10 3 (0.44%) Kafka
10 3 (0.44%) RESTful
Miscellaneous
1 110 (16.11%) Management Information System
2 62 (9.08%) Security Posture
3 48 (7.03%) Onboarding
4 37 (5.42%) Operational Technology
5 19 (2.78%) Cyber Threat
5 19 (2.78%) Data Protection Act
6 15 (2.20%) Cloud Native
7 12 (1.76%) Analytical Mindset
7 12 (1.76%) Mobile App
7 12 (1.76%) PKI
7 12 (1.76%) Virtual Team
8 11 (1.61%) BYOD
8 11 (1.61%) Insider Threat
8 11 (1.61%) Security Operations Centre
9 10 (1.46%) Data Centre
9 10 (1.46%) Product Ownership
10 9 (1.32%) Enterprise Software
10 9 (1.32%) Legacy Systems
10 9 (1.32%) Public Cloud
11 8 (1.17%) SCADA
Operating Systems
1 66 (9.66%) Windows
2 38 (5.56%) Linux
3 26 (3.81%) Windows Server
4 12 (1.76%) Unix
5 5 (0.73%) Apple iOS
6 3 (0.44%) Mac OS
6 3 (0.44%) zOS
7 1 (0.15%) Kali Linux
7 1 (0.15%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
7 1 (0.15%) Windows 10
Processes & Methodologies
1 253 (37.04%) Cybersecurity
2 181 (26.50%) Risk Management
3 115 (16.84%) Continuous Improvement
4 114 (16.69%) Problem-Solving
5 109 (15.96%) Data Protection
6 104 (15.23%) Stakeholder Management
7 85 (12.45%) Cloud Security
8 76 (11.13%) Security Management
9 65 (9.52%) Agile
10 62 (9.08%) Incident Response
11 61 (8.93%) Security Operations
11 61 (8.93%) Stakeholder Engagement
12 60 (8.78%) Change Management
13 58 (8.49%) Information Security Management
14 57 (8.35%) AI
15 54 (7.91%) Roadmaps
15 54 (7.91%) SIEM
16 52 (7.61%) Decision-Making
17 51 (7.47%) Computer Science
17 51 (7.47%) Threat Modelling
Programming Languages
1 70 (10.25%) Python
2 48 (7.03%) PowerShell
3 24 (3.51%) Java
4 20 (2.93%) Bash
5 19 (2.78%) SQL
6 7 (1.02%) Kotlin
7 6 (0.88%) Kusto Query Language
8 5 (0.73%) Go
9 4 (0.59%) C#
10 3 (0.44%) RPG
11 2 (0.29%) Apex Code
11 2 (0.29%) Data Analysis Expressions
11 2 (0.29%) JavaScript
12 1 (0.15%) BeanShell
12 1 (0.15%) Bicep
12 1 (0.15%) C++
12 1 (0.15%) Lisp
12 1 (0.15%) R
12 1 (0.15%) TypeScript
12 1 (0.15%) VBA
Qualifications
1 186 (27.23%) Security Cleared
2 142 (20.79%) SC Cleared
3 139 (20.35%) Degree
4 116 (16.98%) CISSP
5 80 (11.71%) CISM
6 45 (6.59%) DV Cleared
7 31 (4.54%) CISA
8 26 (3.81%) Cisco Certification
9 24 (3.51%) Computer Science Degree
9 24 (3.51%) CRISC
10 21 (3.07%) (ISC)2 CCSP
11 18 (2.64%) CEH
12 17 (2.49%) CREST Certified
13 16 (2.34%) ISO 27001 Lead Implementer
13 16 (2.34%) Master's Degree
14 15 (2.20%) ISO 27001 Lead Auditor
15 14 (2.05%) Postgraduate
16 12 (1.76%) CompTIA Security+
17 11 (1.61%) CHECK Team Member
17 11 (1.61%) Cyber Scheme
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 225 (32.94%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 158 (23.13%) NIST
3 117 (17.13%) GDPR
4 88 (12.88%) GRC
5 49 (7.17%) PCI DSS
6 32 (4.69%) COBIT
7 27 (3.95%) PMO
8 26 (3.81%) Cyber Essentials
8 26 (3.81%) QA
9 25 (3.66%) NCSC
10 24 (3.51%) Data Quality
11 18 (2.64%) Sarbanes-Oxley
12 17 (2.49%) NIST 800
13 13 (1.90%) ISO/IEC 27005
13 13 (1.90%) SOC 2
14 11 (1.61%) Accessibility
15 10 (1.46%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
16 8 (1.17%) RMADS
17 7 (1.02%) Government Security Classifications
17 7 (1.02%) HMG Security Policy Framework
System Software
1 49 (7.17%) Active Directory
2 8 (1.17%) Docker
3 7 (1.02%) Virtual Machines
4 5 (0.73%) VMware Infrastructure
5 4 (0.59%) Hyper-V
6 3 (0.44%) Squid
7 1 (0.15%) BitLocker
7 1 (0.15%) Ceph
7 1 (0.15%) Firmware
7 1 (0.15%) RACF
Systems Management
1 18 (2.64%) Microsoft Intune
2 14 (2.05%) Kubernetes
3 12 (1.76%) Terraform
4 11 (1.61%) Nmap
4 11 (1.61%) SCCM
5 9 (1.32%) Ansible
6 7 (1.02%) Single Sign-On
7 5 (0.73%) Functional Safety
7 5 (0.73%) QRadar
8 4 (0.59%) WSUS
9 3 (0.44%) CASB
10 2 (0.29%) FortiGate
10 2 (0.29%) Podman
10 2 (0.29%) Prometheus
10 2 (0.29%) Red Hat Satellite
10 2 (0.29%) SCOrch
11 1 (0.15%) Host Intrusion Detection System
11 1 (0.15%) Nessus
11 1 (0.15%) Progress Chef
11 1 (0.15%) RSA Archer
Vendors
1 114 (16.69%) Microsoft
2 33 (4.83%) ServiceNow
3 23 (3.37%) Oracle
4 17 (2.49%) CyberArk
5 14 (2.05%) Cisco
5 14 (2.05%) Google
6 12 (1.76%) BeyondTrust
7 10 (1.46%) CrowdStrike
8 7 (1.02%) IBM
8 7 (1.02%) Palo Alto
9 6 (0.88%) VMware
10 5 (0.73%) Databricks
10 5 (0.73%) Qualys
10 5 (0.73%) Sophos
11 4 (0.59%) Fortinet
11 4 (0.59%) NEC
11 4 (0.59%) Remedy
11 4 (0.59%) Salesforce
11 4 (0.59%) SAP
11 4 (0.59%) Splunk