The vast majority (82%) of cybersecurity leaders feel burned out as a result of various pressures, a new Symantec survey among professionals from France, Germany and the UK shows.
One major source of stress for 86% of infosec executives is the trend toward stricter government regulation, which has resulted in new legislation like the European Union’s (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the EU’s NIS Directive. A majority (55%) of survey respondents is worried that a data breach at their company may cost them their job, and 40% fear that they would even be personally held liable for such an incident.
Other headaches for security leaders include the size and complexity of the environment they need to protect, which was mentioned by 82% of respondents; the growing number of cyber threats (82%); and insufficiently skilled staff (80%).
The high levels of stress among infosec executives are a cause for concern according to Dr Chris Brauer of the University of London, because “[s]tress dramatically impacts our ability to make good decisions” and “[i]n an industry like cybersecurity, which requires focus, creative thinking, attention to detail and rational decisions in high pressure scenarios – stress can be crippling.”
Read more: The leading sources of stress for cybersecurity leaders? Regulation, threats, skills shortage
