China's hottest new job: 'cyber bodyguards'

Cyber security specialists, hired to protect companies from hackers, is becoming the most sought-after white collar job in China, pushing aside jobs in areas such as banking and finance in the first quarter of 2017, reported by the South China Morning Post.

"We have seen an increase in permanent demand for security experts across a range of clients, with analysts and architects, cyber threat intelligence analysts, consultants and cyber incident analysts being the most in demand," says Greater China managing director of Hays recruiting firm, Simon Lance.

A new cyber security law that took effect in China on June 1 is further fueling the need for top talent and therefore a strong demand for these cyber security specialists is likely to continue, according to Lance.

According a research report conducted by Hays, the average salaries of "cyber bodyguards" increased by 25% to 35%, which is 5% higher than other kinds of jobs in the IT industry.

Banks, financial institutions, retailers, or any other company that uses computers is vulnerable to hackers who might try to obtain their customers' personal information.

Businesses are increasing their spending to hire external cyber security firms full of these "cyber bodyguards" to fight cyber-crime as well as hiring talent within the company, according to Pang Limin, deputy general manager of CIIC Human Capital Survey and Data Solution Center.

An earlier report showed that internal theft is the main cause of customer-data leakage in China's massive e-commerce market, which is the largest in the world, according to the South China Morning Post.