IT Security Pros Fear Brand Damage and Job Loss

By Samuel Greengard

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IT Security Pros Fear Brand Damage and Job Loss

IT and security pros who protect their company are overwhelmed by the barrage of cyber-attacks. They fear losing their job and damage to the firm's reputation.
Under Pressure

63% of the IT security professionals surveyed felt more pressure to secure their organizations in 2015 compared to the prior 12 months, and 65% expect to feel additional pressure this year.
Growing Skills Gap

A shortage of security expertise now ranks as the third biggest operational pressure, behind advanced security threats and the adoption of emerging technologies.
Board Burdens

40% of the respondents said they feel the most pressure about their security program either directly before or after a company board meeting.
Not Ready for Primetime

77% of the IT pros surveyed said they are pressured to unveil IT projects that aren't security- ready.
Performance Pressures

Pressure to select security technologies that have all the latest features jumped from 67% to 74% over the last year.
Empty Promises?

Despite the adoption of more sophisticated solutions, organizations with the necessary resources to put them to use fell from 71% to 69% over the last year.
Staff Shortfall

87% of the respondents said they want additional security staff—up three percentage points from last year. 52% of them want to double their team.
Fearing Consequences

Job loss remains the third-highest post-breach fear, behind reputation damage and financial damage to one's company, respectively.
Wish List

The security professionals' top requests are for a larger budget (33%), more security expertise (20%), fewer complex technologies and products (15%) and more time (14%).
Security Recommendations

Understand and prioritize data and systems. Recognize the enormity of the attack surface. Increase emphasis on detection and response. Instill security as a culture. Be open to sharing the burden and bringing in outside expertise.
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A seemingly endless barrage of cyber-attacks and other digital threats is taking its toll on the IT security professionals who are charged with protecting the enterprise. Despite increasingly sophisticated security solutions, the number of breaches continues to grow, and the dangers are multiplying. For security practitioners, the pressure, stress and hazards are enormous. As the recently released "2016 Security Pressures Report" from Trustwave points out: "Security professionals are often overwrought with trying to ensure that every potential threat vector is sealed off—all while working with a diminishing pool of available in-house resources." The study of 1,400 global IT and security professionals found that the pressure on practitioners is growing, a cyber-security skills gap is becoming worse, and assembling the right strategy and collection of solutions is more difficult than ever. Consequently, the things security professionals most fear as a result of a breach are damage to the company's reputation and finances, and losing their job. Here are some of the key findings from the report.

This article was originally published on 2016-05-03

IT Security Pros Fear Brand Damage and Job Loss

IT Security Pros Fear Brand Damage and Job Loss

Under Pressure

Growing Skills Gap

Board Burdens

Not Ready for Primetime

Performance Pressures

Empty Promises?

Staff Shortfall

Fearing Consequences

Wish List

Security Recommendations