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

6 months to
7 Mar 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 169 159 113
Rank change year-on-year -10 -46 +3
Contract jobs citing Information Security 707 524 923
As % of all contract jobs in the UK 1.66% 1.71% 2.06%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category 1.92% 1.90% 2.37%
Number of daily rates quoted 398 298 604
10th Percentile £385 £321 £390
25th Percentile £450 £475 £475
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £550 £588 £575
Median % change year-on-year -6.38% +2.17% -4.17%
75th Percentile £650 £688 £675
90th Percentile £772 £816 £775
UK excluding London median daily rate £523 £575 £545
% change year-on-year -9.13% +5.50% -0.91%
Number of hourly rates quoted 80 29 53
10th Percentile £17.03 £16.21 £16.91
25th Percentile £20.71 £22.14 £19.25
Median hourly rate £28.00 £24.18 £44.50
Median % change year-on-year +15.80% -45.66% -36.43%
75th Percentile £41.94 £45.00 £78.36
90th Percentile £81.15 £81.08 £83.40
UK excluding London median hourly rate £27.94 £22.14 £44.50
% change year-on-year +26.20% -50.25% -40.17%

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 36,884 27,639 38,956
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 86.36% 90.19% 86.75%
Number of daily rates quoted 23,378 17,377 25,379
10th Percentile £313 £306 £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 £738 £738
UK excluding London median daily rate £481 £494 £500
% change year-on-year -2.58% -1.20% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 2,184 915 2,310
10th Percentile £14.72 £15.62 £13.16
25th Percentile £18.32 £21.03 £16.06
Median hourly rate £28.00 £32.81 £32.50
Median % change year-on-year -14.66% +0.95% -7.14%
75th Percentile £63.75 £64.50 £58.64
90th Percentile £74.00 £75.95 £71.87
UK excluding London median hourly rate £25.38 £32.25 £32.50
% change year-on-year -21.30% -0.77% -7.14%

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 March 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 March 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 March 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 -2 630 £550 -8.33% 308
UK excluding London -16 339 £523 -9.13% 222
London +5 295 £570 -5.00% 133
Work from Home +9 211 £550 - 139
South East -3 113 £563 -6.25% 104
North of England -55 68 £500 -5.57% 40
Midlands -43 51 £500 - 24
East of England +1 45 £535 -10.83% 15
North West -29 43 £500 -6.98% 25
South West -11 36 £500 -25.37% 32
West Midlands -43 36 £545 -14.34% 17
Yorkshire -53 21 £494 +14.49% 12
Scotland +11 20 £354 -26.10% 6
East Midlands -20 15 £450 +50.00% 7
Wales +3 6 £388 +115.28% 5
North East -15 4 £450 -16.97% 3

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 22 (3.11%) Confluence
2 18 (2.55%) SharePoint
3 11 (1.56%) Microsoft Exchange
4 7 (0.99%) Oracle Collaboration Suite
5 4 (0.57%) Apache Spark
6 2 (0.28%) Mattermost
6 2 (0.28%) Skype for Business
7 1 (0.14%) Apache
7 1 (0.14%) Apache Airflow
7 1 (0.14%) WebSphere
7 1 (0.14%) WebSphere Application Server
Applications
1 42 (5.94%) Microsoft Office
2 35 (4.95%) Microsoft Excel
3 14 (1.98%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 8 (1.13%) Microsoft Project
5 2 (0.28%) MS Visio
5 2 (0.28%) Spreadsheet
6 1 (0.14%) Adobe After Effects
6 1 (0.14%) Adobe Illustrator
6 1 (0.14%) Adobe Premiere
6 1 (0.14%) Camtasia
6 1 (0.14%) Navisworks
6 1 (0.14%) Revit
Business Applications
1 12 (1.70%) Oracle EBS
2 4 (0.57%) NEC Housing
2 4 (0.57%) Remedy ITSM
3 2 (0.28%) SAP GRC
3 2 (0.28%) Temenos T24
4 1 (0.14%) Salesforce CRM
Cloud Services
1 121 (17.11%) Azure
2 86 (12.16%) AWS
3 44 (6.22%) Microsoft 365
4 33 (4.67%) GCP
5 29 (4.10%) Entra ID
6 24 (3.39%) Power Platform
6 24 (3.39%) SaaS
7 16 (2.26%) Microsoft Purview
8 15 (2.12%) OCI
9 11 (1.56%) GitHub
10 8 (1.13%) Azure Sentinel
10 8 (1.13%) Power Automate
11 7 (0.99%) IaaS
11 7 (0.99%) Microsoft Copilot
11 7 (0.99%) PaaS
11 7 (0.99%) PowerApps
12 6 (0.85%) OneDrive
13 5 (0.71%) Amazon S3
13 5 (0.71%) Azure Data Factory
13 5 (0.71%) Azure DevOps
Communications & Networking
1 64 (9.05%) Firewall
2 31 (4.38%) Network Security
3 19 (2.69%) DNS
3 19 (2.69%) TCP/IP
4 14 (1.98%) HTTP
5 13 (1.84%) Wireless
6 12 (1.70%) SSH
6 12 (1.70%) WAN
7 11 (1.56%) VPN
8 10 (1.41%) DHCP
8 10 (1.41%) Internet
9 7 (0.99%) SMTP
9 7 (0.99%) Wi-Fi
10 5 (0.71%) Cisco IPT
10 5 (0.71%) FTP
10 5 (0.71%) SAN
10 5 (0.71%) SSL
11 4 (0.57%) Intrusion Detection
12 3 (0.42%) OSPF
12 3 (0.42%) SD-WAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 20 (2.83%) Power BI
2 11 (1.56%) Data Warehouse
3 9 (1.27%) Metadata
3 9 (1.27%) SQL Server
4 6 (0.85%) Data Lake
5 4 (0.57%) Big Data
5 4 (0.57%) Hadoop
5 4 (0.57%) SQL Server Reporting Services
5 4 (0.57%) Tableau
6 3 (0.42%) DynamoDB
6 3 (0.42%) GIS
6 3 (0.42%) NoSQL
6 3 (0.42%) Oracle Reports
7 2 (0.28%) Amazon Redshift
7 2 (0.28%) BigQuery
7 2 (0.28%) DB2
7 2 (0.28%) Elasticsearch
7 2 (0.28%) Oracle BI Publisher
7 2 (0.28%) Power Query
7 2 (0.28%) Relational Database
Development Applications
1 29 (4.10%) JIRA
2 14 (1.98%) Burp Suite
3 11 (1.56%) Metasploit
4 10 (1.41%) Git
5 2 (0.28%) GitLab
6 1 (0.14%) AppScan
6 1 (0.14%) GCC
6 1 (0.14%) git-flow
6 1 (0.14%) Jenkins
6 1 (0.14%) MSI
6 1 (0.14%) ScriptRunner
6 1 (0.14%) SonarQube
General
1 243 (34.37%) Social Skills
2 134 (18.95%) Finance
3 104 (14.71%) Public Sector
4 87 (12.31%) Analytical Skills
5 60 (8.49%) Legal
6 49 (6.93%) Banking
7 34 (4.81%) Organisational Skills
8 20 (2.83%) Presentation Skills
9 18 (2.55%) Documentation Skills
10 16 (2.26%) Influencing Skills
10 16 (2.26%) Telecoms
11 14 (1.98%) Retail
12 9 (1.27%) Law
12 9 (1.27%) Manufacturing
13 8 (1.13%) Police
14 7 (0.99%) Marketing
15 6 (0.85%) Local Government
15 6 (0.85%) Spanish Language
16 5 (0.71%) Cyber-Physical System
17 4 (0.57%) Military
Job Titles
1 126 (17.82%) Analyst
2 73 (10.33%) Consultant
3 55 (7.78%) Senior
4 49 (6.93%) Architect
5 47 (6.65%) Security Engineer
6 46 (6.51%) Lead
6 46 (6.51%) Security Analyst
7 39 (5.52%) Security Manager
8 38 (5.37%) Security Consultant
9 33 (4.67%) Security Architect
10 28 (3.96%) Security Officer
11 21 (2.97%) Project Manager
11 21 (2.97%) Security Specialist
12 20 (2.83%) Designer
12 20 (2.83%) Service Designer
13 19 (2.69%) Developer
14 18 (2.55%) Information Analyst
14 18 (2.55%) Information Security Analyst
15 17 (2.40%) Cybersecurity Manager
15 17 (2.40%) Support Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 14 (1.98%) Oracle Fusion
2 13 (1.84%) OAuth
3 11 (1.56%) SAML
4 10 (1.41%) OpenID
5 9 (1.27%) LDAP
5 9 (1.27%) SailPoint
6 8 (1.13%) Middleware
6 8 (1.13%) OAuth2
7 5 (0.71%) Node.js
8 4 (0.57%) .NET
8 4 (0.57%) Spring
8 4 (0.57%) Spring Boot
9 3 (0.42%) GraphQL
9 3 (0.42%) J2EE
9 3 (0.42%) JSP
9 3 (0.42%) JWT
9 3 (0.42%) ModSecurity
9 3 (0.42%) Qt
9 3 (0.42%) REST
9 3 (0.42%) RESTful
Miscellaneous
1 118 (16.69%) Management Information System
2 73 (10.33%) Security Posture
3 36 (5.09%) Onboarding
4 29 (4.10%) Operational Technology
5 24 (3.39%) Cyber Threat
6 20 (2.83%) Data Protection Act
7 18 (2.55%) PKI
8 16 (2.26%) Cloud Native
8 16 (2.26%) Data Centre
9 14 (1.98%) Insider Threat
10 13 (1.84%) Product Ownership
11 12 (1.70%) Security Operations Centre
12 11 (1.56%) Analytical Mindset
12 11 (1.56%) BYOD
12 11 (1.56%) Legacy Systems
12 11 (1.56%) Virtual Team
13 9 (1.27%) Public Cloud
14 8 (1.13%) Enterprise Software
14 8 (1.13%) Hybrid Cloud
14 8 (1.13%) Mobile App
Operating Systems
1 66 (9.34%) Windows
2 35 (4.95%) Linux
3 23 (3.25%) Windows Server
4 15 (2.12%) Unix
5 3 (0.42%) Kali Linux
5 3 (0.42%) zOS
6 1 (0.14%) Apple iOS
6 1 (0.14%) Mac OS
6 1 (0.14%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
6 1 (0.14%) Windows 10
Processes & Methodologies
1 254 (35.93%) Cybersecurity
2 182 (25.74%) Risk Management
3 118 (16.69%) Continuous Improvement
4 116 (16.41%) Problem-Solving
5 113 (15.98%) Data Protection
6 108 (15.28%) Stakeholder Management
7 83 (11.74%) Cloud Security
8 82 (11.60%) Security Management
9 74 (10.47%) Incident Response
10 67 (9.48%) Agile
11 64 (9.05%) Change Management
11 64 (9.05%) Security Operations
12 62 (8.77%) Information Security Management
12 62 (8.77%) Roadmaps
13 59 (8.35%) Stakeholder Engagement
14 53 (7.50%) Computer Science
15 51 (7.21%) AI
15 51 (7.21%) SIEM
16 48 (6.79%) ITIL
16 48 (6.79%) Regulatory Compliance
Programming Languages
1 58 (8.20%) Python
2 38 (5.37%) PowerShell
3 27 (3.82%) SQL
4 17 (2.40%) Java
5 10 (1.41%) Bash
6 5 (0.71%) Go
7 4 (0.57%) C#
7 4 (0.57%) Kotlin
8 3 (0.42%) C++
8 3 (0.42%) Kusto Query Language
8 3 (0.42%) RPG
9 2 (0.28%) Data Analysis Expressions
9 2 (0.28%) JavaScript
9 2 (0.28%) R
9 2 (0.28%) Rust
9 2 (0.28%) Solidity
10 1 (0.14%) Apex Code
10 1 (0.14%) BeanShell
10 1 (0.14%) Lisp
10 1 (0.14%) VBA
Qualifications
1 210 (29.70%) Security Cleared
2 166 (23.48%) SC Cleared
3 135 (19.09%) Degree
4 116 (16.41%) CISSP
5 89 (12.59%) CISM
6 47 (6.65%) DV Cleared
7 41 (5.80%) Computer Science Degree
8 30 (4.24%) CISA
9 28 (3.96%) Master's Degree
10 27 (3.82%) Cisco Certification
11 26 (3.68%) ISO 27001 Lead Implementer
12 23 (3.25%) CRISC
13 21 (2.97%) (ISC)2 CCSP
14 20 (2.83%) ISO 27001 Lead Auditor
15 19 (2.69%) BPSS Clearance
16 18 (2.55%) CEH
17 13 (1.84%) CREST Certified
17 13 (1.84%) CTC Cleared
17 13 (1.84%) Postgraduate
18 12 (1.70%) CompTIA Security+
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 239 (33.80%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 176 (24.89%) NIST
3 125 (17.68%) GDPR
4 80 (11.32%) GRC
5 46 (6.51%) PCI DSS
6 32 (4.53%) COBIT
7 29 (4.10%) NCSC
8 26 (3.68%) Cyber Essentials
8 26 (3.68%) QA
9 24 (3.39%) PMO
10 21 (2.97%) Accessibility
11 20 (2.83%) Data Quality
12 17 (2.40%) NIST 800
13 16 (2.26%) Sarbanes-Oxley
14 14 (1.98%) Def Stans
15 12 (1.70%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
15 12 (1.70%) ISO/IEC 27005
15 12 (1.70%) SOC 2
16 11 (1.56%) JSP 440
17 10 (1.41%) SLA
System Software
1 46 (6.51%) Active Directory
2 11 (1.56%) Virtual Machines
3 6 (0.85%) Docker
4 3 (0.42%) VMware Infrastructure
5 1 (0.14%) Microsoft App-V
5 1 (0.14%) RACF
5 1 (0.14%) Virtual Desktop
5 1 (0.14%) VMware Workstation
Systems Management
1 23 (3.25%) Microsoft Intune
2 13 (1.84%) SCCM
3 12 (1.70%) Kubernetes
3 12 (1.70%) Nmap
4 9 (1.27%) Terraform
5 7 (0.99%) Ansible
5 7 (0.99%) QRadar
6 6 (0.85%) CASB
6 6 (0.85%) SCOrch
7 5 (0.71%) Functional Safety
7 5 (0.71%) WSUS
8 4 (0.57%) FortiGate
8 4 (0.57%) HP SiteScope
8 4 (0.57%) SCOM
8 4 (0.57%) Single Sign-On
9 2 (0.28%) Nessus
9 2 (0.28%) Prometheus
9 2 (0.28%) Red Hat Satellite
9 2 (0.28%) RSA Archer
10 1 (0.14%) logstash
Vendors
1 110 (15.56%) Microsoft
2 34 (4.81%) ServiceNow
3 20 (2.83%) Oracle
4 17 (2.40%) CyberArk
5 16 (2.26%) Google
6 15 (2.12%) Cisco
7 12 (1.70%) IBM
8 10 (1.41%) Splunk
9 9 (1.27%) CrowdStrike
9 9 (1.27%) Thales
10 8 (1.13%) Databricks
10 8 (1.13%) Fortinet
10 8 (1.13%) Gemalto
11 7 (0.99%) Palo Alto
11 7 (0.99%) Qualys
11 7 (0.99%) SAP
12 6 (0.85%) BeyondTrust
12 6 (0.85%) Remedy
12 6 (0.85%) Sophos
13 5 (0.71%) Ariba