Cybersecurity professionals across the globe are facing workload, stress, and diversity issues, says CIISec Survey.
The Chartered Institute of Information Security (CIISec) has shared its latest “State of the Security Profession Survey. According to the finding of the survey, more than half of CISOs and other cybersecurity professionals are stressed, overworked, and undervalued. Moreover, they are also frustrated with the constant lack of budgetary support they receive for taking the necessary cybersecurity measures.
The CIISes which surveyed 445 UK IT security professionals, said that 82% of security budgets were failing to keep up with the growing environment and rising threat levels. The current COVID-19 pandemic is expected to put security professionals under immense pressure owing to reducing budgets.
It is essential that enterprises globally learn to manage and even do more with fewer resources. They also need to address issues related to diversity and burnout by getting the right people with the right skills. The survey also warned that a pronounced gender pay gap continues to afflict the industry in the UK in CISO specific roles.
Nearly 70% of respondents said the biggest security challenge in an organization was people while 14% said it was processed and only 11% said it was technology. Cybersecurity teams are expected to face more pressure in 2020 because of the pandemic as well as its aftermath on businesses’ budgets and ability to operate.
CIISec noted that it is important for companies to attract and retain security personnel considering the current pattern of pressure. Moreover, factors like career opportunity, remuneration, and other training should be given special consideration as these were some of the top reasons for security professionals to leave their jobs.
Close to half of the respondents said they need to let routine or non-critical tasks slip in order to deal with the current busy period. Also important is to offer incentives to existing staff to cover overtime and increase existing resources and workforce when necessary.
Earlier this year, a different CISO Stress report from Nominet’s revealed that cyber-security officials are stressed more than ever before, with many unhappy at their work-life balance and the pressures of the job.
