IT burnout is a significant industry challenge that affects employees at all levels, including CISOs. Virtual CISO services offer a potential solution by reducing stress and providing crucial security support for businesses.
IT burnout is one of the industry’s biggest challenges, and it doesn’t stop at the highest level of chief information security officer (CISO). According to Salesforce research, 44 percent of full-time IT employees experience burnout. Hefty workloads, insufficient resources, high-stakes pressure, and staff shortages add to the mental and emotional burden of IT workers at every level. Add in the 24/7/365 nature of cybersecurity, and CISO executives are burdened with significant challenges.
As a solution, virtual CISO services alleviate CISO stress, reduce overwork, and critically support the company’s security posture.
The Rise of Virtual CISO Services
Since COVID-19, virtual IT services like CISO models have grown in popularity. Outsourcing is a popular way to reduce in-house IT costs, and external partners can take on more capacity than in-house employees. Plus, businesses are scaling up and down in response to growth and customer demand, forcing the need for more flexible IT operational models.
Increased Adoption for Small Businesses
Strong cybersecurity is a tough balancing act of costs and benefits, especially for small- to medium-sized companies. Sixty percent of small businesses that experience a cyber incident close their doors within six months, and financial damages can be insurmountable. Even if they want stringent and innovative security frameworks and technologies, costs can be prohibitive. Virtual CISO models are often a fraction of the cost, making it possible for startups to afford and scale with these companies.
Increased Adoption in Healthcare, Finance, Tech, and Retail
Specific industries are more likely to adopt the flexible, virtual model of CISO support. For example, healthcare organizations face stringent industry standards like HIPAA, and they are a major target for cybercrime as personal medical data is worth 10 times more on the black market than financial information. Financial organizations accounted for 8.3 percent of cyberattacks in 2023, and retail companies similarly house tons of credit card information.
The rise in virtual CISO risk management services due to increased cybercrime is undeniable, but why is it also a solution for traditional CISO burnout?
Understanding CISO Burnout
CISO executives face visible, high-pressure situations, especially if their business is hit with a data breach or criminal attack. Eighty-eight percent of surveyed CISO executives reported combinations of high levels of stress, physical health issues, and mental health burdens, leading to an average tenure of only 26 months. Even personal liability is a concern when regulators impose charges on individuals. “You have a situation where any little thing could be the last straw and cause complete burnout or even a break,” said Patrick Benoit, CISO at Brinks Global.
Attempting to solve every security challenge is also overwhelming and unrealistic. Matt Modica, vice president and CISO for BJC Healthcare, explained, “I will repeatedly remind both my team and the organization’s management team that it is unrealistic that we will resolve 100 percent of all cyber-related issues.”
Not only does CISO burnout negatively affect the mental and emotional health of the individual, but it can also lead to lapses in judgment and critical thinking that negatively affect the overall business and organizational security. When leaders feel constantly stressed and mentally fatigued, they can make a critical misstep, leading to even more fear and frustration.
With so many security executives dealing with burnout, virtual CISO services reduce their responsibilities, balance the workload, and provide support. Also, as an increasingly popular option for large enterprises, two individuals — a full-time in-house worker and a virtual one — can co-tackle this incredibly demanding job workload.
Virtual CISO Services as a Solution
Virtual CISO services are rising in popularity thanks to their attractive advantages. While virtual CISO responsibilities remain similar to a traditional in-house role, costs are significantly cheaper, internal teams are less overworked, and your organization gets access to specialized expertise.
Typical Responsibilities of Virtual CISOs
Depending on the scope of work and your budget, virtual CISOs can take on a variety of responsibilities, such as:
- Cybersecurity maturity — gauging maturity levels and helping to define priorities.
- Strategic guidance on new and emerging threats for your industry.
- Cybersecurity roadmap planning, implementation, and execution.
- Executiveadvisory services, employee training, and IT worker mentoring.
- Technology selection and architecture design.
- Crisis management planning and coordination.
- Short-term and long-term compliance management.
Benefits and Advantages
For small businesses with limited resources or larger organizations completing a merger, virtual CISO services are cost-effective and flexible and offer a diverse, unbiased perspective. It allows teams to focus on priority business goals like revenue growth and customer retention without getting bogged down with a compliance audit or network overhaul.
External CISO providers also have their own network and resources to recommend other vendors, get specialized pricing from software and hardware providers, and operate as leaders and partners.
Potential Challenges and Considerations
However, the biggest roadblocks to hiring virtual CISO providers are usually integration, regulatory compliance, response time, and confidentiality. Other business leaders might worry that virtual CISO providers are uncommitted or remain hesitant to share sensitive data. Plus, logistics might be challenging if companies are in different time zones or the CISO vendor manages multiple clients.
Whether you choose to invest in a virtual CISO model or not, the future of cybersecurity leadership is undoubtedly changing.
The Future of Cybersecurity Leadership
The overall job outlook for cybersecurity leaders is still strong, with employment expected to grow roughly 15 percent between 2021 and 2031. However, the role will inevitably keep evolving to remain proactive and innovative in response to threats growing in frequency and sophistication. In the future, CISO leaders will bring a wide breadth of technical knowledge mixed with the highest levels of business acumen.
The global cost of cybercrime is expected to surge within the next four years, rising to $13.82 trillion by 2028. Virtual CISOs will become invaluable cost-effective expertise to small businesses and can quickly ramp up and service on project and fractional bases. IT teams will increasingly turn to outsourcing specialized services and employees will become more custom to remote and distributed collaboration.
Organizational Challenges and Considerations for Virtual CISO Adoption
While there are so many advantages to virtual CISO adoption, consider the below challenges and considerations to ensure a successful long-term implementation. Collaboration and communication between teams are key, and you need to ensure confidentiality around sensitive data and information.
Plus, closely vet hidden costs around extended support or emergency response, and make sure you align on whether this is a short-term, project-based initiative or a long-term strategic alignment.
Closely consider all the below factors when analyzing virtual CISO companies:
- Organizational and cultural fit
- The ability to maintain consistent security oversight
- Mitigating confidentiality and trust
- Striking the balance between budget-friendly cost-effectiveness and comprehensive security coverage
- Communication and availability issues between teams
- Specific compliance and regulatory requirements, audits, and processes
Once you’ve vetted multiple virtual CISO options and carefully weighed all options, consider hiring and outsourcing this critical security role.
Using Virtual CISO Services
With so many important CISO leaders fatigued by burnout, alternative models and solutions must step in to keep organizations secure. As threats evolve and the pace of innovation becomes more intense, forward-thinking businesses will shift to new models of cybersecurity leadership.
When considering augmenting a short-term staffing gap or embarking on a long-term, five-year security plan, consider hiring virtual CISO services as a tactical and strategic partner.
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