Stressed staff put enterprises at risk of cyberattack

A new survey from detection and response specialist Adarma reveals that organizations believe they are at significant risk of cyberattack due to stressed and exhausted staff.

The study of 500 cybersecurity professionals from UK organizations with over 2000 employees finds 51 percent believe their security operations staff are challenged, stressed, frustrated and/or exhausted, which could be putting businesses at risk.

Over 40 percent of cybersecurity leaders feel like they have limited capabilities and expertise to fully understand the threats they face, while a further 43 percent say that they have some, little or no capabilities or expertise to detect and respond to potential threats in their IT environments.

"Cybersecurity professionals are typically highly passionate people, who feel a strong personal sense of duty to protect their organization and they'll often go above and beyond in their roles. But, without the right support and access to resources in place, it's easy to see how they can quickly become victims of their own passion. The pressure is high and security teams are often understaffed, so it is understandable that many cybersecurity professionals are reporting frustration, burnout, and unsustainable stress. As a result, the potential for mistakes being made that will negatively impact an organization increases. Business leaders should identify opportunities to ease these gaps, so that their teams can focus on the main task at hand, protecting the organization," says John Maynard, Adarma's CEO.

The findings also show the importance and value of diversity in cybersecurity recruitment. Two-thirds (66 percent) believe recruiting from a wider, more diverse talent pool would offer significant help with the cybersecurity skills shortage. In addition, 35 percent would consider working with a third-party provider for diversity strategies and to benefit from a more diverse team of talent. In fact, nearly two-thirds (61 percent) of cybersecurity professionals believe that a lack of different perspectives and diverse representation is holding them back.

Maynard adds, "One of the best things that can be done for team capability and performance is to fill it with diverse and thoughtful individuals. By diversifying the talent pool, new ideas flow and various perspectives can pave the way for innovation. Exploring non-traditional recruitment paths will help to further widen that talent pool by making careers in cybersecurity more accessible to a broader range of candidates."

The full report is available from the Adarma site.

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