What happens if your fellow passengers are absorbed in their phones/PDAs when the driver is asleep behind the wheel? He certainly can’t keep an eye on the road to ensure safe driving. Unfortunately, the hazards that cybersecurity experts face on a regular basis are less evident than huge glass and metal frames rushing your way. Nonetheless, as the company’s first line of defence against potential threats, they are required to be on high alert 24 hours a day, seven days a week, all year.
According to a recent Accenture study, roughly 68 percent of corporate leaders are concerned about fast increasing cybersecurity risks. RiskBased supports this viewpoint, estimating that 36 billion data records were hacked in the first half of 2020. With remote operations and activities from anywhere becoming the norm in the wake of the epidemic, a spike in cyber-attacks was expected. Nonetheless, the magnitude and number of attacks in 2020 have been alarming. Furthermore, while 5G connectivity allows linked devices to access higher speeds and capacity, it also has the unintended consequence of making cyber-attacks faster and more efficient. Despite this, according to Varonis, just 5% of businesses have proper security systems in place to protect business information in folders.
What is Cybersecurity Burnout?
With the cybersecurity skills gap expected to persist for the foreseeable future, it’s no surprise that the majority of today’s cybersecurity workforce is anxious and overworked. According to BitSight, 91% of CISOs experience moderate to high levels of stress, forcing them to consider leaving their jobs. Employee burnout has become a key source of concern for cybersecurity managers, with 63% of firms experiencing a serious shortage of cybersecurity personnel.
We’ll give you 6 Cybersecurity Burnout Prevention Tips in this article.
Create a Complete and Current Training Programme for ALL Staff
That’s right, you read that correctly. ALL workers, we said. According to a recent analysis by Cybint, human error is to blame for 95% of cybersecurity breaches. As a result, your staff are the weakest link in your cybersecurity chain. They must comprehend the significance of cybersecurity, the necessity for security protocols, roles, and obligations in the case of an attack, as well as the usefulness of information security people. Aside from that, recurrent training for key staff is required to keep them up to date with the latest tools, tips, and tactics in cybersecurity operations.
Discourage ‘Multi-Tasking’ and Let Employees ‘Mono-Task’
Cybersecurity professionals frequently wear numerous jobs, especially in smaller businesses. Due to the sheer amount of work on their plates, this can divert their attention away from their essential tasks, resulting in accelerated burnout. Managers can effectively tackle this difficulty by actively discouraging “multi-tasking” and encouraging employees to focus on smaller, more manageable activities that are completed with the correct equipment and clear instructions. We’ve discovered at IT Services Los Angeles that this method can also help managers gain a better understanding of team members’ capabilities and avoid overload.
Allow Flexibility for Infosec Employees
Employees in the information security business are infamous for working overtime since, in the event of a breach anyplace in the business, they must work double time to continuously monitor and quadruple-check system defences. You may believe that overtime money is sufficient compensation, but in reality, all those late or all-nighters, as well as travel, are skewing your employees’ work-life balance. Increased flexibility for work-from-home employees, as well as an increase in paid time off and paid leave for new parents or employees with disabled children, can help to lessen the blow and provide them some breathing room to manage their professional and personal life effectively.
Enable a Change of Guard at Regular Intervals
Your digital vanguards are cybersecurity professionals, particularly those active in cyber monitoring. They need intervals of leisure and rejuvenation to keep attentive and focused on risks so they can defend your organisation against emerging threats. People entrusted with danger monitoring can avoid tiredness and burnout by rotating a list of experts. Fresh eyes are always more vigilant when it comes to seeing and anticipating danger. If your in-house IT employees are already stretched thin, Managed IT Security services may be a good option.
Circle in Team-Bonding Activities and Downtime
While working from home and taking vacations are beneficial, you must ensure that your staff have enough fun and leisure and are not overworked by the high demands of threat monitoring and response. Even while your staff are on the clock, you should schedule blocks of team building activities and simple leisure time. Even if it’s only a trip to the local café or bar, this type of downtime is extremely beneficial in fostering camaraderie and connecting among coworkers, allowing them to work together as a team when necessary. If nothing else, it will provide your team members with some ‘unplugged team’ time when they are in critical need.
Let Employees Talk it Out
Finding people with similar difficulties to connect with can be quite empowering for your staff. It provides a safe sanctuary for them to talk about stress, discuss their difficulties, and devise solutions to properly manage them. Although having an in-house licenced expert for employees to turn to when they need one-on-one assistance would be ideal, group conversations can be just as useful. More than anything else, employees must feel confident enough to come forward and ask for assistance when they require it. Families can provide a tremendous support system, so your programme should think about how to get them involved.
Even with all of these helpful hints, avoiding burnout in the cybersecurity field is a difficult undertaking. As leaders, we owe it to our staff to establish a secure, manageable, and enjoyable work environment for them to devote themselves to the daily fight against the myriad cyber dangers that target our organisations.