Cybersecurity is booming but it comes at a human cost

According to a new survey of 302 security professionals, almost 80 percent say they have 'good' or 'excellent' career prospects, and more than 84 percent say the industry is 'growing' or 'booming'.

However, the report from The Chartered Institute of Information Security (CIISec) finds the industry is still plagued by issues including stress and overwork. 22 percent of respondents work more than the 48 hours per week mandated by the UK government, and eight percent work more than 55 hours which, according to the World Health Organization, marks the boundary between safe and unsafe working hours.

When asked what keeps them awake at night, the two main sources of stress for cyber professionals are day-to-day stress/workload (identified by 50 percent) and suffering a cyberattack (32 percent).

Security professionals are concerned that the economic climate will lead to or has already created increased cyber risk -- especially from fraud (identified by 78 percent) and insider threats (58 percent).

Respondents overwhelmingly agree that the impact of the economic climate will be mostly felt by smaller businesses and less wealthy individuals, who have less resources to protect against threats and are less able to withstand and recover from a successful attack.

"It's good to see cyber security professionals are positive about their career prospects," says Amanda Finch, CEO of CIISec. "The cyber security industry is thriving. It has many opportunities for people from almost any background, and the need for cyber security is greater than ever as threats continue to rise -- making a critical function essentially recession-proof. However, the industry cannot rest on its laurels: it must do more to ensure talent is properly supported and not burnt out. Key to this will be equipping them with the right skills, and attracting fresh blood into the industry to ensure teams aren’t put under undue pressure."

Among other findings, respondents list money/remuneration as the number one factor that causes people to leave security jobs, followed by opportunity/scope for progression. Poor working environments are also a major factor: bad or ineffectual management; boring work or a lack of variety; and atmosphere, or issues with teams and colleagues, all make it into the top reasons for respondents to leave their jobs.

Interestingly 71 percent of respondents say 'people' are the biggest challenge they face in security, as the industry continues to both battle a skills shortage and educate their colleagues. This is compared to process (21 percent) -- where organizations are struggling to implement best practices that will reduce risk. Only eight percent of cyber security professionals believe technology is a challenge.

"Traditionally, the cyber security industry has been seen as super technical career. However, as we can see it is much more than that," adds Finch. "It demands social, managerial, investigative, and even financial capabilities. The industry must start doing better at advertising the opportunities to use different skills to broaden cybersecurity's appeal. At the same time, the industry needs to prioritize the people within it. This means creating an environment that they want to work in and can thrive. By doing this, the industry can continue to boom, and cyber security professionals can live long and fulfilled careers."

You can get the full report from the CIISec site.

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