The heightened risk of cyber attacks on businesses is being compounded by significant recruitment and retention issues within cyber security teams, making them more vulnerable to potential attacks, according to new survey based research from ThreatConnect Inc. This found that 41 percent of UK-based IT security managers are considering leaving their current job in the next six months.
31 percent of UK respondents also reported difficulties recruiting people with the skills and talent needed for cyber security and only 23 percent of UK security leaders asked would be likely to recommend a career in cyber security compared to a more significant 42 percent proportion who are unlikely to.
Now, more than ever, security teams are being expected to do more with less leading to increased stress levels. More than a third (37 percent) of respondents in the UK reported feeling highly stressed about work and more than half (53 percent) said their stress levels increased over the past six months. Long hours and heavy workloads are notable drivers of personal stress at work, manifesting in headaches (44 percent), a drop in work performance (43 percent), and sleeping difficulties and fatigue (37 percent).
With staff turnover increasing and a potential shortfall of advocacy encouraging new talent into the profession, there appears to be a potentially vicious cycle impacting staffing levels and, therefore, organizations’ ability to mitigate the risk of cyber attacks and further increasing pressure on security teams. Added to this, a significant 32 percent of respondents to ThreatConnect’s survey did not agree that their company can keep up with the volume and sophistication of cyber threats, and 28 percent didn’t agree their company had the right security systems in place.
