SCIENCE & TECH: Tackling cybersecurity burnout, once and for all

The cybersecurity sector isn’t exactly known for its calm and relaxing pace. If you’ve chosen to pursue a career in it, chances are you’re well aware of this. But there’s a stark difference between a fast-paced job and chronic burnout.

The exciting, challenging nature of the job is often what first attracts many, offering growth and development opportunities on a daily basis, but it’s often too easy for the workload to tip over the limit, resulting in the physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion characterized by chronic stress and burnout.

In fact, recent research shows that 76% of cybersecurity professionals experienced fatigue or burnout over the last year.

As the symptoms of burnout and anxiety accumulate over time, your security team members could face reduced productivity and decreased job satisfaction, potentially even driving them to consider a career change.

A shocking 69% of cybersecurity professionals said that their fatigue has worsened between 2023 and 2024, so there’s no time to wait around for burnout to get worse. Business leaders need to take action now.

But where to start?

The root of the problem

First, it’s key to understand what’s causing cybersecurity burnout in your organization. Otherwise, you’ll be trying to solve the problem blind, likely only addressing the surface issues, or even inadvertently making it worse.

Of course, cyber attackers won’t be considering how their relentless pace of attack can cause burnout. Cyber defense is a fast-paced, high-intensity environment that requires professionals to always be one step ahead. And, this won’t change any time soon.

Attackers are also always innovating and exploring new evasion tactics. This has a knock-on effect, driving new cyber defense technologies that professionals need to keep up with, learn to use, and maintain. Plus, new regulations are constantly emerging in response to cyber threats that security teams need to be compliant with.

This all feeds into the day-to-day, driving the need for 24/7 coverage, and fueling the start and stop nature of the role with routine tasks often interspersed with ad hoc demands. While this can’t be changed, what can be is the organizational attitude to cybersecurity.

There will always be pressure from executive management, but how is this being handled? Are teams facing barrages of questions and queries rather than just being left to get on with it?

And most importantly, do security teams have the right tools in place to work effectively? The cyber skills gap is well-documented, but it’s worth repeating that the World Economic Forum currently estimates a shortfall of over 4 million cyber professionals globally.

In this environment, even operating just one team member down could be the difference between a manageable workload and a burnout-inducing environment as teams scramble to fill in the gaps.

The day-to-day impact

Much of the discussion around burnout is understandably around the emotional impact, particularly the heightened stress, anxiety, and other adverse effects that can damage both mental and physical health, but it doesn’t stop there. Burnout doesn’t just affect the individuals suffering with it, but also the wider team.

As the many cybersecurity professionals out there currently managing these symptoms will know, the quality of work they produce is at stake. Heightened anxiety is often related to a fear of new cyberattacks or breaches, leading to reduced productivity and reduced engagement in work as their anxiety takes them out of the present.

Of course, this has an impact on the effectiveness and sustainability of any cybersecurity defenses under the purview of any team dealing with burnout. Even the smallest compromise to security posture could lead to more frequent and more impactful security incidents, resulting in both operational downtime and the potential for significant financial losses.

While financial consequences may well be the impact that the C-suite and board members are most engaged with, there are ripple effects that go even further. The potent blend of anxiety, stress, and diminished job satisfaction often leads to strained personal relationships in the workplace, creating friction in teams and even sparking increased turnover if left unchecked.

Changes that can actually move the needle

Awareness has only grown in recent years as professionals continue to speak out about the issue. In turn, this has pushed businesses to introduce measures in the hope of driving burnout rates down. But, with burnout rates still going up, there’s more to be done.

Sure, initiatives that get teams talking are great to instill burnout prevention as a key tenet for cybersecurity teams to focus on. But the real shift in behavior will come once businesses have fostered supportive workplace cultures, where issues like burnout can be discussed and addressed before they worsen.

Investment in training will help to equip teams with the mental health resources they need to manage the stress that comes hand in hand with cybersecurity work.

While there’s nothing businesses can do to reduce the number of attacks facing security teams on a daily basis, they can give them a leg up with the best solutions available. Strategic external partnerships, particularly with managed detection and response (MDR) services, could be especially helpful here.

In recent research into cybersecurity burnout, 92% of impacted professionals reported that the introduction of MDR has reduced fatigue and burnout, a benefit that no cybersecurity professional would turn down.

Beyond all of that, there’s also more to be done to make jobs in cybersecurity that bit more enjoyable. By introducing growth and development opportunities, businesses can upskill their talent while also varying their day-to-day.

In a role like cybersecurity, your talent needs to know what they’re working towards, not just what KPIs they need to hit, but in terms of what comes next for their development.

Combine this with all the other initiatives and you won’t just address the causes of burnout, but you’ll also see a more satisfied and engaged workforce to boot.

Check out our feature on the best IT management tool.

This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro’s Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro