Today we are highlighting one of the emerging trends in the world of the web: cybersecurity teams dealing with burnout that is leading to increased vulnerability for individuals and organizations.
As ZDNET has reported, there has been a sharp rise in attacks and disruptions in the cyber world in recent years. Rates of ransomware, corporate espionage, and IP theft have all increased. As a result, cybersecurity professionals are experiencing high rates of burnout and both employee recruitment and retention are suffering. A recent study by Mimecast revealed roughly one-third of those who work in cybersecurity have considered leaving the profession, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to attract new professionals to the field. The shortage of qualified cybersecurity professionals has many worried that it is causing a domino effect of labor shortages across the entire IT industry.
One of the primary drivers of employee burnout is due to time and effort spent by cybersecurity teams cleaning up the mistakes of others. A 2020 study conducted by Tessian and Stanford University showed that nearly 90% of data breaches are caused by human error, which puts increased pressure on IT and cybersecurity teams. The Mimecast study found that over half of cyber attacks cost more than $100K to fix, which is comparable to what many companies spend on their cybersecurity plan. Additionally, cyber attacks often attract significant negative media attention, such as the Colonial Pipeline attack in May 2021.
Of course, this issue grows more complicated as more individuals work from home and may not be using a business computer for all their work.
Developing a Cybersecurity Plan
Web Professionals Global has been deeply involved in raising awareness of cybersecurity issues for web professionals, including this article in which we discussed safe practices regarding passwords and security. It is crucial that web professionals stay up to date on the latest cybersecurity trends to avoid data breaches and more. And companies and organizations must ensure they keep employees informed and aware of risks they may encounter, whether working from the office or from home. This may include increasing budgetary resources for more frequent and adequate cybersecurity training. After all, any organization is only as strong as its weakest link.
Web professionals can do the following as a start to protect against cyber threats:
- Keep software up to date
- Keep anti-virus protection up to date
- Use unique passwords
- Use two-factor authentication (2FA)
- Back up data regularly
- Avoid using public wifi networks (where possible, use a VPN)
- Avoid mixing personal and work accounts and devices
Career Pathways in Cybersecurity
You might be interested in exploring what it is like to work in the world of cybersecurity. It is a high-paying and in-demand career path due to the reasons we have discussed in this article. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, information security analyst hiring is expected to grow 35 percent from 2021 to 2031, faster than the average for other career tracks. This equates to almost 20,000 openings for information security analysts each year. As of May 2021, the average salary for the profession was just over $102K. Web developers are right behind, with a projected 30% rate of growth over the same period of time. Cybersecurity is an industry that will need talent for many years to come.
Contact us Today
Our work in cybersecurity is core to our mission of “Community, Education, Certification.” We are committed to training web professionals to fill the skills gaps in cybersecurity and other web sectors. To learn more about Web Professionals Global and our work in cybersecurity and other areas, contact us today.
