Cybersecurity teams are facing increasing pressure, with 61% of professionals indicating their organizations lack sufficient specialized staff. Furthermore, more than half (52%) consider that the budget allocated to this area is not enough to cover the company’s needs. This is highlighted by the latest study published by ISACA.
The report highlights the negative impact of this situation on the well-being of employees, as 68% of those surveyed affirm that their work is more stressful than five years ago. 79% of them attribute this increase in stress to the growth in the complexity and frequency of cyber threats. Additionally, 41% of professionals report having experienced more cyberattacks than the previous year.
«In an increasingly sophisticated threat environment, it is essential that we overcome the barriers related to lack of personnel and financial resources. Without well-prepared teams, the security of critical infrastructure and entire ecosystems is left vulnerable,” says Chris Dimitriadis, Director of Global Strategy at ISACA.
Uncertain prospects
Looking ahead, cybersecurity professionals are not optimistic. 58% of respondents believe their organization will likely experience a cyber attack in the next year, representing an increase of 6 percentage points compared to 2023. This increase underscores the urgent need to invest more in skilled staff and training to manage threats and minimize long-term damage.
Cybersecurity teams cannot cope with increasing cyber attacks
The survey also revealed that 19% of organizations have openings in entry-level positions and 48% in positions that require experience or certifications. These figures have changed minimally compared to the previous year, which shows the persistent difficulties in filling key roles in the sector.
New demands for cybersecurity professionals
Another aspect highlighted by those surveyed is the need to improve soft skills among professionals in the sector, with 52% pointing out soft skills as a critical area for improvement. Among them, communication was the most mentioned (54%), followed by the ability to solve problems (53%) and critical thinking (48%).
Dimitriadis added: “The diversity of people with different skills, experiences and perspectives is essential to addressing the cybersecurity talent gap. Once these professionals enter the sector, companies will be able to train and specialize new employees through certifications and qualification programs.
For his part, Mike Mellor, vice president of Security Engineering at Adobe, the company that sponsored the study, stressed the importance of adopting secure authentication methods in the face of the growing sophistication of cyberattacks. «At Adobe, we believe that fostering a culture of security at the organizational level is key. This includes everything from training against phishing attacks to the implementation of zero trust networks protected by authentication resistant to these types of attacks. These measures are crucial to safeguard the security of any organization,” he concluded.
