Is Cyber Security a Stressful Job?

14-Feb-2022

Job stress is a costly global phenomenon that affects a wide range of companies and professions. Pressure and stress aren't specific to security or technology occupations, but it can be tough to gauge how the dangers stack up. Everything, including one's impression of professional stress, is subjective. 

The current world is now experiencing an unprecedented demand for cybersecurity professionals, with no signs of slowing down in the foreseeable future, which is fantastic news for anyone considering a career in the field. As with any work, you may have certain concerns, such as how demanding is a Cybersecurity job? The answer is largely contingent on your personality as well as the type of employment you prefer.

In the field of Cyber security, amongst the many job positions, a CISO in comparison with Security Analyst faces a different set of problems and concerns. A cybersecurity profession is not stressful if you love a challenge and a diversified working environment.

Neither of these jobs is less stressful than the other; they require entirely different talents and mindsets. The jobs will be extremely different on a day-to-day basis. A CISO will deal with challenges and experiences related to leadership, whereas a Security Analyst will be more reactive.

If you have completed a cyber security course and now want to figure out if cyber security jobs are stressful, let us find out the reasons causing it.

What Causes Cybersecurity Job Stress?

Inadequate staffing and overloading are two of the most common sources of stress in the security industry. Of course, this does not apply to every employer. I've been lucky enough to work in industries and firms that require a high level of security, which has resulted in funding to satisfy personnel requirements. Stress may be a severe concern for any organization's security posture if it is not properly addressed. It's not all inherently bad; everyone reacts to work pressures differently, it is thus advisable that prospective professionals are aware of the scenario they are getting themselves into before starting a cybersecurity profession.

Causal factors of Cyber security job stress

Scarcity of resources

Almost half of CISOs are concerned about the lack of human resources available at their disposal to deal with the daily task. This is without even considering future risks and proactive threat management.

Manpower constraints heighten existing employees' workloads, resulting in a never-ending cycle of putting out fires and resistance to taking on more tasks and dangers posed by the company.

As a cybersecurity expert, resource constraints may or may not affect you, and you may even benefit from an increased workload. However, if personnel are ill-equipped to handle the burden and are frequently overwhelmed, there is a serious risk. Prioritizing duties and boosting efficiency is key to solving and relieving workplace stress for organizations.

Lack of Assistance

Data Loss Protection in the recent past was frequently misunderstood as a cybersecurity issue rather than a company-wide initiative.

This isn't unique to DLP; it's a general organizational attribute. Cybersecurity is frequently viewed as a roadblock to growth rather than a means of risk mitigation.

In your work experience as a cyber security professional, there are chances of coming across a scenario where team leaders often don't understand the relevance of security control. There might also be events where members of the board regard security as a bother and will overrule your security settings whenever they see appropriate. This has often led to mismanagement and impedes security measures and operations.

Support for cybersecurity must come from the very highest of a business; without it, security teams will be forever at odds with users, and their hard work will be undone far too often by a single administrative decision.

Nonetheless, the business world is evolving, and security is now a key priority for many organizations, implying that top-down support is accessible.

Overwhelming Workloads 

Surprisingly, 73 percent of security professionals polled by the Ponemon Institute said they are burnt out due to an ever-increasing workload. According to the same survey, SOC analysts are more prone to feeling overwhelmed for a variety of reasons. Sixty-five percent of SOC analysts have contemplated changing jobs because they are frustrated by their workload, which is exacerbated by inadequate visibility or alert fatigue.

One of the major drawbacks of this type of work is that it is mostly reactive, making aggressive modifications at the SOC level difficult to achieve meaningful results. This also contributes to a sense of the labor being done being invisible.

It's easy to feel as if your work has no meaning, which, when combined with a heavy workload, can quickly lead to burnout.

To counteract this, SOCs must aim to minimize false-positive incidences and automate them as much as feasible the repetitive task. Performing for just an hour on a significant, actual positive event is much more satisfying than laboring for an hour upon 20 uninteresting, low-value occurrences.

Requirements for being on call

According to Ponemon, 71 % of security staff report being on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. It's a surefire way to burn out. Although security is a business that operates 24 hours a day, every team must develop a realistic solution to on-call schedules and remuneration. By decreasing false positive alarms and human investigations, automating and incident handling capabilities can help minimize on-call stress even more.

Skills Deficiencies

If an individual participant feels ill-equipped with knowledge or abilities, workplace stress can escalate out of control. CISOs must address issues related to internal skills shortages and stress impacts, despite the fact that the cyber skills deficit isn't a simple dialogue. The results of an internal survey could provide a compelling argument for using simulation training to improve abilities or forming relationships with third-party providers.

Secure Digital Transformation

According to ESG, % of cyber professionals are concerned about securing new IT ventures. To handle the dangers of new cloud or internet of things (IoT) initiatives, teams must build security controls at the speed of innovation. Shadow IT is also a huge issue - 39 percent of security professionals are annoyed by erratic requirements to safeguard technology projects that are begun without the knowledge or input of cyber.

A secure digital transformation culture can alleviate this source of stress while also lowering innovation risks and expenses. Shared technology can help security and IT groups communicate and collaborate more effectively.

To avoid stress in the field as discussed above, organizations must prioritize efficient planning and scheduling their workloads and timings. Another effective measure is to train employees through an accurate cyber security course online. Doing away with skill shortage and deficiencies demands cyber security courses in order to train professionals rigorously.

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