Dissatisfaction, burnout, and their penalties for CISOs
The State of the CISO 2023-2024 Report, from IANS Analysis and Artico Search, discovered that CISO job satisfaction sits at 64%, down from 74% in 2022 and 69% in 2021. The proportion of CISOs open to altering jobs is 75%. The 2023 Voice of the CISO report, from security software program firm Proofpoint additionally uncovered some troubling figures, revealing that 73% of US CISOs skilled burnout within the prior yr.
In the meantime, the Cybersecurity Burnout Survey: Fast Learn Report from Wakefield Analysis on behalf of security software program maker Devo Expertise discovered that 83% of the security professionals it surveyed stated they or somebody of their departments had made an error of their roles that resulted in a security breach as a consequence of burnout. Some 77% stated their stress ranges at work have had a direct influence on maintaining personal buyer information secure. And 85% admitted that they must swap their roles, go away their corporations, or go away each their corporations and swap careers within the upcoming yr on account of burnout.
All that, consultants say, is resulting in churn. The typical tenure for a CISO is just 18 to 26 months (effectively below the overall C-suite tenure of 4.9 years), in response to the CISO Workforce and Headcount 2023 Report from Cybersecurity Ventures.
Moreover, analysis agency Gartner estimates that just about half of cybersecurity leaders will change roles by 2025, with 25% transitioning to completely different positions as a consequence of work-related stressors.
What’s driving CISO dissatisfaction?
It will be simple to solely blame the worrying nature of security work for such figures, particularly as the quantity and velocity of threats improve as the quantity of infrastructure and information requiring safety expands.
However that may be an oversimplification, says Chris Mixter, a Gartner vice chairman and analyst. In any case, the standard CISO superior to the highest security spot after years of working within the security occupation and is used to the stress, lengthy hours, and all-hands-on-deck moments. They’re mission-driven, they usually’re effectively conscious of the excessive stakes.
