The Chartered Institute of Information Security (CIISec) are an organizational focal point for the setting of standards across the Information Security profession. Each year, they conduct a \u201cState of the Security Profession\u201d survey, seeking insight into the mindset and trends within the sector.<\/p>\n
In this report \u2013 the fifth annual turnout \u2013 its short, thematically structured questions prompted candid takes on poor resources, tight budgets, high regulatory pressures and increasing threats.<\/p>\n
2020\u2019s iteration of the survey had more respondents than ever before, earmarking cybersecurity risk management as an increasingly vital enterprise, and understandably so.<\/p>\n
With regulatory fines on the rise (in value and notoriety), consumers are keeping a keen eye on the privacy of their data, and are increasingly intolerant of mishandling or carelessness from the custodian; this gives rise to a number of the pressures outlined in the report.<\/p>\n
Shrinking security spend
\nThe CIISec report reveals that overwork and burnout are very real issues for the IT security industry in 2020, with 54% of respondents either leaving their role due to overwork or burnout, or knowing someone who has.<\/p>\n
One reason for this is a lack of funding; 82% of respondents said security budgets were not keeping pace with rising threat levels.<\/p>\n
With security spend either shrinking or struggling to stay afloat amidst a sea of risk, security teams are subsequently either smaller or stretched too thin. The result is a stark rise in stress levels, which in turn prove risky to organisations. Amanda Finch, CEO of CIISec, points to the increased pressure that will inevitably result from Covid-19, too, complete with its \u201cprofound effects on businesses\u2019 budgets and ability to operate\u201d.<\/p>\n
To mitigate, \u201cwe need the right people with the right skills, giving them the help they need to reach their full potential\u201d.<\/p>\n
To the question \u201chow do companies deal with busy periods?\u201d, the following responses emerged:<\/p>\n
Hope to cope with fewer resources \u2013 64%
\nLet routine or non-critical tasks slip \u2013 51%
\nIncentivise existing staff to cover tasks (e.g. through overtime) \u2013 9%
\nIncrease resources (i.e. hiring additional short-term staff) \u2013 4%
\nThe outlook for security budgets isn\u2019t all that positive. Finch highlights the importance of \u201cthe industry learning how to do more with less.\u201d Her claims \u2013 alongside the wider context of report \u2013 give extra weight to the findings of the TechHQ team, which recently documented the need for \u2018more cash and more people\u2019 in cybersecurty.<\/p>\n
Source: Tech HQ<\/p>\n