Cybersecurity is it Hard ?

Cybersecurity, a stressful job? 63% of professionals confirm!

Cybersecurity Stress Figures

It is to the National Information Systems Security Agency, alias ANSSI, that we owe the stress figures in cybersecurity professions. In 2021, the agency launched a large-scale survey as part of its Observatory of cybersecurity professions. This report was produced online with 2,381 cyber professionals. 

The Goal: is to take stock of the sector, both in terms of its actors and their well-being and in terms of missions with the resurgence of threats.

Thus, in the ANSSI study, 63% of people working in cybersecurity consider their work stressful or very stressful. A figure to qualify with this precision of the survey: “Most of them want to continue to practice in this sector.”

With the Covid-19 pandemic, cybersecurity professions have grown in all companies and in all areas of activity. The labor shortage has therefore worsened. The stress caused by the workload can quickly become a real enemy for the employee. The CISO Stress study, conducted among 800 information systems security officers (RSSI) in the United States and the United Kingdom, reveals alarming figures:

• 88 of CISOs surveyed consider themselves to be “ relatively or extremely stressed ”,

• 48% of them explain that their level of stress has an impact on their mental health.

Note: My opinion in order to qualify these results, it should be noted that cybersecurity employees confirm, in the ANSSI study, a certain fulfillment on a daily basis in their jobs: 80% believe that cybersecurity issues are taken into account in their structure and 89% are satisfied with the exercise of their profession.

The Reasons for the Prevalence of Stress in Cybersecurity

But then, why such a high level of stress for these jobs? The reasons cited by the report are multiple:

• Long and sometimes tedious working hours,
• Sometimes difficult working conditions,
• Budgets allocated are still too low VS threats,
• Constant threats whose volumes are increasing,
• Difficulty recruiting and therefore strengthening teams,
• The lack of representation and understanding on the part of certain leaders,
• Requests that are difficult to fill.

Did you think the list ended there? Nay. Cyberjobs has decided to highlight three stress factors particularly present in cybersecurity jobs.

The Constant Evolution of the Profession

Since the appearance of digital professions, the years follow one another and are not alike. Missions, skills, and achievements are often disrupted by permanent changes. Cybersecurity is a constantly changing field that requires players in the sector to be more adaptable. And this permanent movement is a source of stress. Indeed, cyber employees cannot be static in their skills, must upgrade regularly and be up to date in their area of expertise. This need to always be efficient therefore creating real stress for the teams.

An idea for a solution: managers must support their employees in the development of skills so that it is supervised and generates less stress on a daily basis.

The Often Negative Image Conveyed by Cybersecurity Professions;

It’s a fact, cybersecurity jobs don’t always get good press. The study conducted by Advens and Cesin reveals astonishing figures regarding the image of cybersecurity employees. The latter 38% declared that their profession "still" suffers from a rather negative a priori. Excessive judgment and misunderstanding: 47% of respondents mentioned these feelings in the 2021 survey.

But, how to explain such a negative image? Too technical, too complicated, too solitary, too masculine: the cybersecurity professions suffer from a truncated image. Today, these are mostly jobs done by enthusiasts, in a good atmosphere and for the common good of a company. This is why it is often strong groups of employees who work in cybersecurity.

Good to know: you also have to break the image of the hooded geek behind his computer screen. The cybersecurity professions are numerous and above all very varied.

Risk management, data management, legal, and communication: in cybersecurity, the missions are numerous, contrary to what people think.

The Random Nature of Attacks and Business Risks;

Still in the study by Advens and Cesin, we also note stress generated by fears about the job. At issue: the cyberattacks that have exploded since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic and the installation of telework. But that's not all: the positions are sometimes sensitive and therefore require broad shoulders.

The numbers speak for themselves:

“82% of respondents confirm that they practice in a context of adversity, in the face of often invisible enemies”,

“52% of respondents feel permanently alert”.

“ Evolving in the field of cybersecurity inescapably leads to always being hyperactive- apprehensive of the pitfalls and pitfalls, it's generally a character particularity that can be linked in campaigners or advisers, without wanting to conception ”, confirms Julie Justeau, reclamation director at SCASSI. And to qualify “ still, a professional knows how to correctly measure exposures and therefore weigh the pitfalls and take some distance. ”

Cybersecurity Jobs: How to Reduce Stress

Understanding stress, managing stress, and mitigating stress: these are the challenges of 2022 for cybersecurity managers. In the Cisco Stress survey, one figure is particularly striking: “35% of respondents, the level of stress is such that it impacts their physical health.” They, therefore, protect the physical and mental health of employees in order to maintain their productivity and enthusiasm. The need is to appease employees so that they keep the pleasure of working and do not undermine their professional development.

First, it is useful to make company employees aware of cybersecurity. The goal: to enable them to understand sometimes obscure professions and therefore not to taint good practices. Who has never complained about changing passwords every month? Hence the importance of explaining certain practices and taking the time to teach.

Then, think about sparing your teams. Be grateful, attentive, and caring, remove unnecessary meetings from the map, promote flexible hours, and offer your employees a real right to disconnect. Finally, set up relaxation areas, a nap room without a screen, and games. Boost offers access to meditation or pilates classes.