Employee Burnout Threatens Cybersecurity Resilience

Attracting IT talent, especially cybersecurity experts, remains a challenge even amid layoffs, but so is keeping them. The last thing you want to do is contribute to employee burnout.

It’s just as big a threat as the growing number of cybersecurity threats as your IT teams struggle to do more with less after a tumultuous three years due to the waning pandemic. Employees of all stripes are experiencing burnout, which as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) is the result of chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.

The solution can be found in the WHO definition; employee burnout can be managed, even when it affects your cybersecurity staff.

Detect the signs of employee burnout

In the same way you want your cybersecurity to be proactive and detect anomalies before they become a major incident, employee burnout can not only be managed, but also prevented so that IT teams can remain engaged and avoid exhaustion.

For cybersecurity professionals in particular, workplace stress stems from the nature of the work – their environments are always active because the organization is constantly under threat. It means handling alerts throughout out the day to prevent and mitigate threats while also ensuring that long-term strategic security initiatives are met. Just making sure the security operation center is adequately staffed off hours causes stress and contributes to employee burnout. You need to make sure you have people available on-call while also giving everyone enough time to wind down if you’re to prevent burnout.

At the end of the day, employee burnout within your cybersecurity team can pose just as big a risk to your security posture as threat actors trying to compromise your IT infrastructure.

Cybersecurity resilience depends on people

Just like potential security risks, employee burnout has warning signs. Chief among them is the phenomenon of quiet quitting – that’s when staff experience depersonalization and increased cynicism. They will also feel emotionally depleted and feel as though they’re being less effective.

Employee burnout can affect the entire cybersecurity team, regardless of their role, and lead to actual quitting. A single, small incident can be the tipping point after prolonged periods of stress on the job – cybersecurity staff are constantly in “fight or flight” mode, and it’s ultimately unsustainable.

Just as you mitigate cybersecurity vulnerabilities, you want to prevent employee burnout – prevention is worth a pound of cure. You need to build up psychological resilience among your team by ensuring your team is confident they can handle what comes there way and being able to adapt to changing situations.

And no matter their job role, your employees need to have a clear sense of purpose as well as adequate social support – trust and relationships are especially important for cybersecurity team if they are to avoid burnout. It also started from the top – if you’re leading your IT staff or a security team, you need to take care of yourself – if you’re depleted, everyone else will feed off of that. Building up your own psychological resilience and instilling the ability in others will boost morale – preventing employee burnout is both about personal responsibility and team effort.

Technology does play a role, too. If your cybersecurity team doesn’t feel they have the right tools for the job, it will contribute to their disengagement. And if they feel they’re understaffed and doing more than their fair share, they’re going to look for greener pastures rather than work harder to compensate for the staffing shortage.

Exploiting automation as much as possible will allow your employees to focus on more rewarding activities and will reduce their stress – they will feel as though they are spending time on projects that that truly matter. Turning to a managed service provider who can take on some responsibilities and complement your cybersecurity team can also alleviate the pressure and further reduce the likelihood of employee burnout.

There are many ways artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning already impact cybersecurity. You can expect that trend to continue in 2024 – both as tools for data protection as well as a threat.

Balancing Cybersecurity Innovation Amid Evolving Threat Landscapes

Even as you implement AI and machine learning into your cybersecurity strategy through the adoption of tools like Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR), Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) and Managed Detection and Response (MDR), so are threat actors. They will continue to update and evolve their own methodologies and tools to compromise their targets by applying AI and machine learning to how they use ransomware, malware and deepfakes.

With small and medium-sized businesses just much at risk as their large enterprise counterparts, SMBs must take advantage of AI and machine learning as mush possible. AI-directed attacks are expected to rise in 2024 in the form of deepfake technologies that make phishing and impersonation more effective, as well as evolving ransomware and malware.

Deepfake social engineering techniques

Deepfake technologies that leverage AI are especially worrisome, as they can create fake content that spurs employees and organizations to work against their best interests. Hackers can use deepfakes to create massive changes with serious financial consequences, including altering stock prices.

Deepfake social engineering techniques will only improve with the use of AI, increasing the likelihood of data breaches through unauthorized access to systems and more authentic looking phishing messages that are more personalized, and hence, more effective.

Countering Cyber Threats and Harnessing Innovation in 2024

If hackers are keen on leveraging AI and machine learning to defeat your cybersecurity, you must be ready to combat them in equal measure – just as AI and machine learning will create new challenges in 2024, they can also help you bolster your cybersecurity. While regulations are being developed to foster ethical use of AI, threat actors are not likely to follow them.

AI will also affect your cyber insurance as your providers will use it to assess your resilience against cyberattacks and adjust your premium payments accordingly. AI presents an opportunity for you to improve your cybersecurity to keep those insurance costs under control.

Conclusion

There’s a lot of doom being predicted around the growing use of AI and machine learning. And while it does pose a risk to your organization and its sensitive data, you can use it to bolster your cybersecurity even as threat actors leverage AI to up the ante. A managed service provider with a focus on security can help you use AI and machine learning to protect your organization as we head into 2024.

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