EDITOR ’ S QUESTION
RICHARD FORD , CTO , INTEGRITY360
culture and objectives . Bringing in specialised talent tailored to your project needs helps reduce workloads , fill the skills gap and keep businesses secure without overburdening the IT / SOC teams .
The pressures of maintaining a real-time view of cybersecurity and responding to incidents are taking their toll on CISOs and their teams . Many find themselves in a constant firefight , tackling one threat after another , which leaves little room for strategic planning or innovation . This endless cycle can significantly impact not only team productivity but also employee wellbeing , leading to burnout .
Human beings , no matter how skilled , cannot sustain high levels of productivity under relentless stress . Early signs of burnout , such as apathy or disengagement , often appear before full-blown exhaustion hits . For CISOs and cybersecurity professionals , the risk of burnout is particularly high . They are expected to manage highly technical challenges and translate these issues into understandable actions for other departments . This dual role can be mentally taxing , leading even the most talented employees to seek better work / life balance elsewhere .
Without addressing these issues , organisations risk losing key talent , and with average CISO tenure hovering around just 26 months , the turnover costs can be significant . As the demand for skilled professionals far outpaces the available talent , keeping hold of skilled employees is critical . Integrity360 addresses this by providing businesses with access to specialists who find , vet and interview personnel to fill critical roles and seamlessly integrate into existing teams . This reduces the strain of finding and training new staff , allowing organisations to focus on core tasks while ensuring that cybersecurity needs are handled by experts aligned with the company
Addressing burnout requires both structural changes and targeted investments . One area where organisations can make an immediate impact is by simplifying and automating their cybersecurity operations . According to a Ponemon Institute / FireEye study , 86 % of highperforming companies rated their Managed Security Service Providers ( MSSPs ) as highly effective , compared to only 51 % of the overall sample . Outsourcing certain security functions through MSSPs can relieve the burden on inhouse teams , allowing them to focus on critical tasks rather than constant firefighting .
Another critical step is embracing automation through tools like Managed Detection and Response ( MDR ) and Security Orchestration , Automation , and Response ( SOAR ). These technologies help automate the collection , triaging and analysis of threat data , reducing the time and effort required for manual monitoring . This can significantly decrease the volume of false positives that contribute to alert fatigue , a leading cause of burnout .
By automating threat detection and response , companies can free up their security teams to focus on higher-value tasks that contribute directly to business goals , rather than repetitive , manual work . This shift not only improves the overall efficiency of security operations but also helps reduce the stress that leads to burnout . CISOs must prioritise a balanced approach to security , one that focuses on skilled employees , automation , managed services and realistic expectations around incident response . By doing so , they can enhance productivity , improve employee morale and safeguard their organisations against both cyberthreats and employee burnout . x www . intelligentcxo . com
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