Stressed and Overworked, a Quarter of CISOs Consider Throwing in the Towel

Two surveys, published in mid-October 2024, have documented the weight of stress and burnout among cybersecurity professionals. The first, conducted by the Californian cybersecurity company BlackFog, is based on responses from 500 CISOs in Europe and the United States. The second, published on October 17, 2024, by the awareness platform SoSafe, focuses on cybersecurity professionals in France.

93% of respondents in the BlackFog survey confess to suffering from excessive stress. Nearly all (98%) report working at least 9 hours of overtime per week, with 15% working more than 16 hours. This overwork and stress are taking a toll on their personal lives: 69% of respondents admit to having had to withdraw from certain social activities. 45% even report having taken medication or consumed alcohol to reduce their work pressure.

The causes of this excessive pressure have been identified: a lack of financial resources and qualified personnel in teams, combined with increasingly sophisticated attacks with an ever-broadening scope. This widespread malaise is leading to legitimate discouragement: 24% of CISOs are actively seeking to leave their positions, and 54% more are considering “the possibility of new professional opportunities.”

SoSafe’s study paints a similar picture. 56% of the cybersecurity professionals surveyed feel burnout, with 24% experiencing it at a high level. This fatigue also has operational consequences: 83% of professionals believe it has caused errors in their department, including security breaches.