By LogRhythm

A global survey of security professionals and executives by LogRhythm

Amid a slew of statistics on how job stress is impacting security professionals, we sought to learn the causes of the tension and anxiety — as well understand potential ways teams might alleviate and remediate the potential of job burnout. 

We ran a global survey with security professionals and executives and investigated the tools those security professionals use to understand solution capabilities, deployment strategies, technology gaps, and the value of tool consolidation.

Key findings

“Now, more than ever, security teams are being expected to do more with less leading to increasing stress levels. With more organisations operating under remote work conditions, the attack surface has broadened, making security at scale a critical concern,” says James Carder, CSO and VP of LogRhythm Labs. “This is a call to action for executives to prioritise alleviating the stress and better support their teams with proper tools, processes, and strategic guidance.”

When asked what causes the most work-related stress, not having enough time is cited by 41 percent and working with executives by 18 percent. In fact, 57 percent of respondents think their security program lacks proper executive support — defined as providing strategic vision, buy-in and budget.

In addition, security professionals cite inadequate executive accountability for strategic security decisions as the top reason (42 percent) they want to leave their job. This is a worrying statistic, given that nearly half of companies (47 percent) are trying to fill three or more security positions.

If you are leading a security team or part of a SOC, hearing that stress is increasing in your space is likely no surprise. To keep up with the threats facing your organisation, it is clear there needs to be a cultural shift — and it must start at the top. It is no longer just the responsibility of a CISO or CSO. To ensure a company is secure, the board and executive team must supply their security team with the strategic guidance, a healthy budget, and the proper tools required to effectively do their jobs.

Further information is available in the full report, available from the LogRhythm website.