Cybersecurity professionals face enormous stress!
Security researchers have warned of “rising and unsustainable levels of stress” in the cybersecurity workforce resulting from persistent ransomware threats and looming, large-scale attacks, which are pushing security professionals to abandon the industry altogether.
A report by cybersecurity firm Deep Instinct found that 46% of senior and executive cybersecurity professionals have considered leaving the industry due to stress.
This is due to a “relentless ransomware threat,” the researchers found, as well as supply chain attacks on a scale similar to the 2020 SolarWinds hack and the 2021 Kaseya ransomware incident that had widespread and long-lasting consequences
The burden of preventing such attacks falls heavily on those tasked with maintaining the security of networks and wider organizational systems, Deep Instinct found. 90% of cybersecurity professionals are stressed about their role, with a “significant percentage” of professionals admitting that it negatively impacts ability to do their jobs.
Those in leadership positions are likely to feel the pressures of the industry most acutely, the report found: one in three C-Suite executives – including CISOs, CTOs, ITOs and Chief Information Officers – said they have “high stress.”
Cybersecurity burnout and fatigue have been exacerbated by the shift to remote work, which has made network security more challenging for organizations.
The reduced oversight that cybersecurity teams have over devices in a remote setting makes it more difficult to ensure adherence to IT security practices, many IT teams still not adequately equipped to address the challenges presented by remote working.
This responsibility puts more pressure on CISOs and other cybersecurity leaders: 52% of C-suite professionals surveyed by Deep Instinct said that ensuring the security of a remote workforce was their biggest cause for concern.
“Senior cybersecurity executives recognize that their stress levels are affecting decision-making and can have implications for corporate security,” the report added.
“The stress we see in the cybersecurity industry appears to be accelerating the exodus of talented people from the industry: a particular challenge when many cybersecurity defenses and mitigation are human-dependent and require constant monitoring and intervention.”
The researchers found a “widespread adoption of completely counterproductive measures” to relieve stressors, such as turning off “overwhelming” notifications.
Lack of tools to properly perform their role and staff shortages were cited as significant challenges by 40% of respondents, respectively.
Information source: zdnet.com
