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- The cybersecurity industry hasn’t had to endure mass layoffs like other tech industries internationally in 2022 and this year.
- In fact, the industry, both in South Africa and globally, has more open positions than people to fill them.
- According to a tech expert, security jobs are demanding and often leave employees fatigued and stressed, which could be part of the reason why finding and retaining talent is hard.
- For more stories, visit the Tech and Trends homepage.
Tens of thousands of layoffs in the tech industry have left multitudes without jobs, but things are different in cybersecurity, with the industry having more jobs than people to fill them. Stress and workplace toxicity in the industry seem to be a big part of the reason.
This is according to senior vice president of content strategy and evangelist at KnowBe4 Africa Anna Collard, who believes that cybersecurity is a fascinating industry, but also a space where high stress levels jeopardise professionals' mental health.
“The cybersecurity skills shortage has meant that fewer roles in this profession have been affected by the layoffs. However, there is ongoing job-security anxiety for people in the technology industry, regardless of their roles.
“Cybersecurity professionals are juggling high-demand jobs that are intensely stressful, and they rarely switch off. Security is a 24/7 job where nobody notices the hard work done until something goes wrong,” Collard said.
A 2023 report by Gartner predicts that by 2025, nearly half of cybersecurity leaders will change jobs and 25% will pursue entirely different roles because of workplace-related stressors.
“Cybersecurity professionals are facing unsustainable levels of stress,” Deepti Gopal, director analyst at Gartner, said in a statement.
Gopal said that burnout has made its way into the cybersecurity industry, but little is being done to address the issue and to address the number of professionals who are leaving the industry because of it.
"A key stressor of our work is that often our teams are playing a game they can’t win because they are always playing defence," Gopal said.
"We must find opportunities for our teams to be recognised for putting 'points on the board' rather than just blocking opponents."
Skills shortage in SA and the world
The story is no different for South Africa.
According to Fortinet’s 2023 Global Cyber Skills Gap Report, the country has a cybersecurity skills gap, with critical roles in the industry being too challenging to fill.
This means that locally and globally, organisations are struggling with an uphill battle to fight against cyberattacks. To curb the issue, the industry needs skilled professionals to fill critical cybersecurity roles, lifting a heavy burden off of those already in the industry.
The report further noted that 68% of organisations face additional risks because of cybersecurity skills shortages, consistent with 67% in 2021.
When it comes to filling roles, 56% struggle to recruit, and 54% struggle to retain talent, compared to 60% and 52% in 2021.
READ MORE | The fastest-declining jobs between now and 2027 - report
Cloud security and security operations are the most challenging roles to fill in the cybersecurity space for various countries, including South Africa.
Stress in the sector
Because of the skills shortage, the people who occupy important roles often have to deal with a high level of work, which also leads to high levels of stress.
This means the work environment is somewhat toxic and leaves cybersecurity employees fatigued.
A recent report on the state of SecOps and automation, which polled 427 IT security companies, found that workplaces and organisations are experiencing rising volumes of security alerts, creating problems which teams struggle to handle.
With over 1 000 alerts daily, most (93%) said they can’t handle them all, while 83% said their staff is battling alert fatigue.
“This shifts the conversation from plugging the gaps to making cybersecurity significantly healthier for those entering into the profession. The holes left by limited access to skilled people are not going to be filled if security remains a space where stress goes to thrive," Collard said.
She added:
A 2022 report titled the Tines State of Mental Health in Cybersecurity states that around 27% of professionals believed their mental health had declined over the past year.
The report found that 66% experience stress at work, 64% say their work affects their mental health, and 58% are on medication to manage their mental wellbeing.
Only half are in good physical health, with only 42% getting much-needed rest.
According to Collard, to minimise the risk of losing talented security people, companies should look beyond the skills gap and provide truly holistic support to their security professionals.
This goes beyond upskilling. Security teams need mental wellness support.
“If you want to attract more people into cybersecurity, you need to put controls in place that minimise the stress and emphasise the value of your people,” Collard said.
