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

6 months to
13 May 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 182 182 115
Rank change year-on-year 0 -67 -13
Contract jobs citing Information Security 680 453 842
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.44% 1.56% 1.97%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 1.71% 1.72% 2.28%
Number of daily rates quoted 414 278 525
10th Percentile £404 £313 £363
25th Percentile £463 £425 £481
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £550 £550 £590
Median % change year-on-year - -6.78% -1.67%
75th Percentile £675 £675 £688
90th Percentile £800 £825 £775
UK excluding London median daily rate £525 £535 £575
% change year-on-year -1.78% -7.04% +4.55%
Number of hourly rates quoted 50 25 25
10th Percentile £16.35 £22.06 £12.75
25th Percentile £20.57 £22.14 £16.71
Median hourly rate £35.50 £24.66 £19.50
Median % change year-on-year +43.96% +26.46% -74.00%
75th Percentile £65.44 £78.36 £23.00
90th Percentile £85.40 £82.59 £33.06
UK excluding London median hourly rate £36.00 £25.15 £18.00
% change year-on-year +43.14% +39.72% -76.24%

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 39,805 26,361 36,876
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 84.33% 90.96% 86.25%
Number of daily rates quoted 24,996 16,941 23,723
10th Percentile £325 £305 £300
25th Percentile £413 £410 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £505 £516 £525
Median % change year-on-year -2.13% -1.71% -4.55%
75th Percentile £613 £626 £638
90th Percentile £725 £738 £750
UK excluding London median daily rate £492 £479 £500
% change year-on-year +2.71% -4.20% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,368 1,073 2,431
10th Percentile £14.82 £14.41 £12.75
25th Percentile £19.90 £18.38 £16.00
Median hourly rate £42.50 £28.60 £36.50
Median % change year-on-year +48.60% -21.64% +1.39%
75th Percentile £67.31 £60.00 £60.00
90th Percentile £80.00 £75.00 £72.50
UK excluding London median hourly rate £45.00 £25.78 £38.00
% change year-on-year +74.59% -32.17% +8.57%

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 13 May 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 13 May 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 13 May 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 -9 613 £550 - 334
UK excluding London +5 326 £525 -1.78% 245
London +2 296 £593 +12.86% 129
Work from Home -20 185 £550 +4.76% 170
South East -1 119 £550 -11.29% 83
North of England -55 67 £540 +27.06% 60
North West -16 47 £550 +37.50% 46
Midlands -25 46 £540 +35.00% 47
East of England -4 40 £575 -4.17% 21
West Midlands -35 35 £500 +25.00% 36
South West -17 31 £500 -14.89% 23
Scotland +6 21 £358 -25.26% 10
Yorkshire -47 17 £500 +21.21% 12
East Midlands -21 11 £591 - 10
Wales -9 3 £645 +258.33% 4
North East -24 3 £450 -15.73% 2

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 (3.38%) Confluence
2 16 (2.35%) SharePoint
3 8 (1.18%) Microsoft Exchange
4 6 (0.88%) Oracle Collaboration Suite
5 4 (0.59%) Apache Spark
6 2 (0.29%) IIS
7 1 (0.15%) WebSphere
7 1 (0.15%) WebSphere Application Server
Applications
1 37 (5.44%) Microsoft Office
2 36 (5.29%) Microsoft Excel
3 15 (2.21%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 11 (1.62%) 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 10 (1.47%) Oracle EBS
2 5 (0.74%) Remedy ITSM
3 4 (0.59%) NEC Housing
4 2 (0.29%) SAP GRC
4 2 (0.29%) Temenos T24
5 1 (0.15%) Oracle Applications
Cloud Services
1 146 (21.47%) Azure
2 105 (15.44%) AWS
3 46 (6.76%) Microsoft 365
4 37 (5.44%) Entra ID
5 34 (5.00%) SaaS
6 32 (4.71%) GCP
7 25 (3.68%) Power Platform
8 20 (2.94%) Microsoft Purview
9 17 (2.50%) GitHub
10 14 (2.06%) OCI
11 13 (1.91%) Azure Sentinel
12 9 (1.32%) IaaS
13 8 (1.18%) Microsoft Copilot
13 8 (1.18%) Power Automate
14 7 (1.03%) PowerApps
15 6 (0.88%) Azure Data Factory
15 6 (0.88%) Azure DevOps
15 6 (0.88%) Azure Logic Apps
15 6 (0.88%) OneDrive
15 6 (0.88%) PaaS
Communications & Networking
1 49 (7.21%) Firewall
2 42 (6.18%) Network Security
3 16 (2.35%) DNS
4 15 (2.21%) Wireless
5 14 (2.06%) TCP/IP
6 13 (1.91%) HTTP
6 13 (1.91%) VPN
7 9 (1.32%) SSH
8 7 (1.03%) DHCP
9 6 (0.88%) Internet
9 6 (0.88%) SSL
9 6 (0.88%) WAN
10 5 (0.74%) FTP
10 5 (0.74%) Intrusion Detection
10 5 (0.74%) SMTP
11 4 (0.59%) HTTPS
12 3 (0.44%) Cisco IPT
12 3 (0.44%) NGFW
12 3 (0.44%) SAN
12 3 (0.44%) SD-WAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 22 (3.24%) Power BI
2 13 (1.91%) SQL Server
3 9 (1.32%) Metadata
4 8 (1.18%) Data Warehouse
5 6 (0.88%) Data Lake
6 4 (0.59%) Big Data
6 4 (0.59%) Hadoop
6 4 (0.59%) Oracle Reports
7 3 (0.44%) DynamoDB
7 3 (0.44%) NoSQL
7 3 (0.44%) PostgreSQL
7 3 (0.44%) SQL Server Reporting Services
7 3 (0.44%) Tableau
8 2 (0.29%) Elasticsearch
8 2 (0.29%) MongoDB
8 2 (0.29%) MySQL
8 2 (0.29%) Oracle BI Publisher
9 1 (0.15%) Amazon Redshift
9 1 (0.15%) Relational Database
9 1 (0.15%) Semantic Layer
Development Applications
1 24 (3.53%) JIRA
2 14 (2.06%) 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%) ScriptRunner
6 1 (0.15%) SoapUI
6 1 (0.15%) SonarQube
General
1 216 (31.76%) Social Skills
2 142 (20.88%) Finance
3 99 (14.56%) Public Sector
4 89 (13.09%) Analytical Skills
5 65 (9.56%) Legal
6 56 (8.24%) Banking
7 28 (4.12%) Organisational Skills
8 24 (3.53%) Documentation Skills
9 20 (2.94%) Influencing Skills
10 13 (1.91%) Presentation Skills
10 13 (1.91%) Retail
11 12 (1.76%) Local Government
12 9 (1.32%) Telecoms
13 8 (1.18%) Law
13 8 (1.18%) Marketing
14 6 (0.88%) Police
15 5 (0.74%) Cyber-Physical System
15 5 (0.74%) Investment Banking
15 5 (0.74%) Military
15 5 (0.74%) Pharmaceutical
Job Titles
1 99 (14.56%) Analyst
2 72 (10.59%) Consultant
3 58 (8.53%) Security Engineer
4 51 (7.50%) Senior
5 50 (7.35%) Architect
6 48 (7.06%) Security Consultant
7 47 (6.91%) Lead
8 40 (5.88%) Security Analyst
9 39 (5.74%) Security Manager
10 36 (5.29%) Security Architect
11 34 (5.00%) Security Officer
12 26 (3.82%) Project Manager
13 24 (3.53%) Developer
14 22 (3.24%) Information Security Officer
15 20 (2.94%) IT Manager
16 19 (2.79%) Business Analyst
16 19 (2.79%) Cybersecurity Manager
17 17 (2.50%) Security Specialist
18 15 (2.21%) Information Analyst
18 15 (2.21%) Information Security Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 22 (3.24%) OAuth
2 17 (2.50%) SailPoint
3 16 (2.35%) Oracle Fusion
4 15 (2.21%) LDAP
4 15 (2.21%) OAuth2
5 12 (1.76%) SAML
6 10 (1.47%) OpenID
7 7 (1.03%) J2EE
7 7 (1.03%) JSP
7 7 (1.03%) Spring
7 7 (1.03%) Spring Boot
7 7 (1.03%) Web Services
8 6 (0.88%) Middleware
9 5 (0.74%) .NET
9 5 (0.74%) Node.js
9 5 (0.74%) REST
10 4 (0.59%) Elastic Stack
10 4 (0.59%) Kafka
10 4 (0.59%) XML
11 3 (0.44%) ADO
Miscellaneous
1 108 (15.88%) Management Information System
2 63 (9.26%) Security Posture
3 49 (7.21%) Onboarding
4 36 (5.29%) Operational Technology
5 21 (3.09%) Cyber Threat
6 18 (2.65%) Data Protection Act
7 16 (2.35%) Cloud Native
7 16 (2.35%) Security Operations Centre
8 13 (1.91%) Analytical Mindset
9 12 (1.76%) Virtual Team
10 11 (1.62%) BYOD
10 11 (1.62%) Insider Threat
10 11 (1.62%) Legacy Systems
10 11 (1.62%) Mobile App
11 10 (1.47%) CSOC
11 10 (1.47%) Product Ownership
11 10 (1.47%) SCADA
12 9 (1.32%) Data Centre
12 9 (1.32%) PKI
12 9 (1.32%) Public Cloud
Operating Systems
1 76 (11.18%) Windows
2 40 (5.88%) Linux
3 30 (4.41%) Windows Server
4 15 (2.21%) Unix
5 7 (1.03%) Apple iOS
6 6 (0.88%) Mac OS
7 3 (0.44%) Windows 10
7 3 (0.44%) zOS
8 1 (0.15%) Android
8 1 (0.15%) Kali Linux
8 1 (0.15%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
Processes & Methodologies
1 249 (36.62%) Cybersecurity
2 177 (26.03%) Risk Management
3 119 (17.50%) Continuous Improvement
4 108 (15.88%) Stakeholder Management
5 107 (15.74%) Data Protection
5 107 (15.74%) Problem-Solving
6 85 (12.50%) Cloud Security
7 71 (10.44%) Security Management
7 71 (10.44%) Security Operations
8 69 (10.15%) Agile
9 68 (10.00%) Incident Response
10 63 (9.26%) Roadmaps
11 60 (8.82%) Stakeholder Engagement
12 59 (8.68%) Change Management
13 58 (8.53%) AI
13 58 (8.53%) SIEM
14 55 (8.09%) Computer Science
15 54 (7.94%) Information Security Management
16 52 (7.65%) Decision-Making
17 51 (7.50%) Risk Assessment
Programming Languages
1 79 (11.62%) Python
2 60 (8.82%) PowerShell
3 25 (3.68%) Java
4 23 (3.38%) Bash
5 17 (2.50%) SQL
6 7 (1.03%) Kotlin
7 6 (0.88%) Kusto Query Language
8 5 (0.74%) Go
9 4 (0.59%) C#
10 3 (0.44%) RPG
11 2 (0.29%) Apex Code
11 2 (0.29%) JavaScript
12 1 (0.15%) BeanShell
12 1 (0.15%) Bicep
12 1 (0.15%) C++
12 1 (0.15%) Data Analysis Expressions
12 1 (0.15%) Lisp
12 1 (0.15%) R
12 1 (0.15%) TypeScript
12 1 (0.15%) VBA
Qualifications
1 188 (27.65%) Security Cleared
2 144 (21.18%) SC Cleared
3 137 (20.15%) Degree
4 122 (17.94%) CISSP
5 85 (12.50%) CISM
6 47 (6.91%) DV Cleared
7 32 (4.71%) CISA
8 29 (4.26%) Cisco Certification
9 28 (4.12%) CRISC
10 24 (3.53%) (ISC)2 CCSP
10 24 (3.53%) Computer Science Degree
11 18 (2.65%) CEH
12 17 (2.50%) CREST Certified
12 17 (2.50%) ISO 27001 Lead Implementer
13 15 (2.21%) ISO 27001 Lead Auditor
14 14 (2.06%) Postgraduate
15 13 (1.91%) Master's Degree
15 13 (1.91%) PMP
16 12 (1.76%) Azure Certification
16 12 (1.76%) PMI Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 225 (33.09%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 151 (22.21%) NIST
3 117 (17.21%) GDPR
4 89 (13.09%) GRC
5 51 (7.50%) PCI DSS
6 31 (4.56%) Cyber Essentials
7 29 (4.26%) COBIT
8 25 (3.68%) NCSC
8 25 (3.68%) PMO
9 24 (3.53%) QA
10 23 (3.38%) Data Quality
11 20 (2.94%) Sarbanes-Oxley
12 18 (2.65%) NIST 800
13 14 (2.06%) SOC 2
14 13 (1.91%) ISO/IEC 27005
15 12 (1.76%) Accessibility
15 12 (1.76%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
16 9 (1.32%) HIPAA
17 7 (1.03%) Government Security Classifications
17 7 (1.03%) HMG Security Policy Framework
System Software
1 52 (7.65%) Active Directory
2 8 (1.18%) Docker
3 6 (0.88%) Virtual Machines
3 6 (0.88%) VMware Infrastructure
4 5 (0.74%) Hyper-V
5 3 (0.44%) Squid
6 1 (0.15%) BitLocker
6 1 (0.15%) Ceph
6 1 (0.15%) Firmware
6 1 (0.15%) RACF
6 1 (0.15%) Virtual Servers
Systems Management
1 17 (2.50%) Microsoft Intune
2 13 (1.91%) Kubernetes
3 12 (1.76%) Terraform
4 11 (1.62%) Nmap
5 10 (1.47%) Ansible
5 10 (1.47%) SCCM
6 7 (1.03%) Single Sign-On
7 5 (0.74%) Functional Safety
7 5 (0.74%) QRadar
8 4 (0.59%) WSUS
9 3 (0.44%) Podman
10 2 (0.29%) CASB
10 2 (0.29%) Computer Incident Response Team
10 2 (0.29%) FortiGate
10 2 (0.29%) Prometheus
10 2 (0.29%) Red Hat Satellite
11 1 (0.15%) Host Intrusion Detection System
11 1 (0.15%) logstash
11 1 (0.15%) Progress Chef
11 1 (0.15%) RSA Archer
Vendors
1 117 (17.21%) Microsoft
2 35 (5.15%) ServiceNow
3 23 (3.38%) Oracle
4 19 (2.79%) CyberArk
5 18 (2.65%) Google
6 16 (2.35%) Cisco
7 14 (2.06%) BeyondTrust
8 12 (1.76%) CrowdStrike
9 9 (1.32%) Palo Alto
10 8 (1.18%) IBM
10 8 (1.18%) Splunk
11 7 (1.03%) Remedy
11 7 (1.03%) VMware
12 5 (0.74%) Apple
12 5 (0.74%) Databricks
12 5 (0.74%) SAP
12 5 (0.74%) Sophos
13 4 (0.59%) Ariba
13 4 (0.59%) Fortinet
13 4 (0.59%) Red Hat