Why Cutting Cybersecurity Jobs Is Shortsighted

Could your company survive if it was taken offline for an entire week? What would be the repercussions and how much would it cost to recover? Trading group Ion found out last month when they had to experience this first-hand after a ransomware attack caused huge disruptions to customers, which included some of the world’s largest banks. 

Financial leaders know the threat of cyberattack is ever-present and ever-growing. As the Bank of England reported late last year, cybersecurity is the number one risk for financial institutions. The impact of remote working has led to a rise in ransomware hacks, while a surge of DDoS attacks linked to the Russian war on Ukraine has all contributed to an increasingly threatening cyber landscape. 

However, as cyber complexity rises, we also see a trend of “brutal” job cuts across the sector, threatening vital roles in already-stretched cybersecurity teams. Cost-cutting is being cited as the driver behind a growing number of security leaders and engineers being cut from headcounts. 

This is a stark turnaround from previous years’ trends which saw organisations struggling to hire the required cybersecurity skills, leading to a vast leap in cyber salaries.

In our turbulent economic climate, it might be tempting, therefore, to see cybersecurity as an area ripe for trimming. As Joseph Thomssen, a senior cybersecurity recruiter at NinjaJobs, recently told SecurityWeek, “Many of these layoffs in cybersecurity seem to be short-term attempts to save money.” 

This is a very dangerous tactic. Firstly, firing staff in the short term will make re-hiring much harder. Reputation as an employer is damaged easily, especially within cybersecurity which is a close community. In the UK, where there is a severe cyber skills gap, fire and rehire is not a viable option and this has been compounded by news of the closure of programs such as the Tech Nation visa scheme, which supported overseas talent to bolster the UK’s cybersecurity workforce. Fire now, regret later. 

Squeezed Security Teams Could Set Companies Up For Failure 

Cyber teams are already struggling, and as cuts are made, the remaining team is left to pick up the slack - doing even more with even less. As uncovered by the Information Systems Security Association (ISSA), over half of organisations are being impacted by a lack of cybersecurity skills, with the result being an excessive workload for existing talent. Nearly four in ten cybersecurity professionals say they have experienced burnout due to the pressures of increasing risks and lack of support. When teams are understaffed and burnt out, cyber risk only increases, which can have devastating consequences for individuals and organisations alike. 

In the face of expanding threats, rather than shrinking cyber teams, financial organisations should consider investment in strategies and tools to support them. For example, working with managed security partners can remove the burden of identifying and mitigating risk and reduce the attack surface, securing data, applications, systems, and devices at all times. With real-time threat intelligence utilising AI and ML, such partners free in-house cybersecurity teams to focus on supporting broader, strategic initiatives. As such, an MSP provides scalable security options based on organisational requirements and the cyber teams' size, skillset and important strategic drivers.

For example, while cyber risk is rising, financial organisations are also undertaking rapid digital transformation, from online trading to mobile banking, digital currencies and app proliferation.  Increasing cloud adoption and integration of SaaS offerings moves critical business assets outside of the traditional network perimeter. According to ISSA, those making this shift to the cloud find it even more challenging; 39% of organisations struggle to fill cloud computing security roles.

While digital transformation has countless benefits for businesses, we must remain conscious of the cyber risks associated with cloud adoption. 

With financial institutions a prime target for malicious actors, cybersecurity is now a core driver for financial institutions, but beyond that, it is also fundamental to supporting innovation. 
With increasing regulatory requirements and soaring customer expectations, the need for transformation and innovation to be built on a secure base is fundamental.

As Candy Alexander, board president of ISSA International, warns, “Cybersecurity is seen as a cost centre to the business -- something you have to do, but only to a minimal degree, like paying the light bill. We need to shift the conversation to aligning our security programs with the business." 

Rather than making short-term cuts and regretting it down the line, business leaders should look at smarter investments to strengthen existing security. This means enhancing teams and supporting them to function at their full potential.

Dan Davies is CTO at Maintel

You Might Also Read: 

Cyber Security Is The CEO’s Biggest Problem:

___________________________________________________________________________________________

If you like this website and use the comprehensive 6,500-plus service supplier Directory, you can get unrestricted access, including the exclusive in-depth Directors Report series, by signing up for a Premium Subscription.

  • Individual £5 per month or £50 per year. Sign Up
  • Multi-User, Corporate & Library Accounts Available on Request

Cyber Security Intelligence: Captured Organised & Accessible


 

« British Cyber Security - New Threats Call For Action
Deepfakes Are Making Business Email Compromise Worse »

CyberSecurity Jobsite
Perimeter 81

Directory of Suppliers

IT Governance

IT Governance

IT Governance is a leading global provider of information security solutions. Download our free guide and find out how ISO 27001 can help protect your organisation's information.

BackupVault

BackupVault

BackupVault is a leading provider of completely automatic, fully encrypted online, cloud backup.

Syxsense

Syxsense

Syxsense brings together endpoint management and security for greater efficiency and collaboration between IT management and security teams.

Practice Labs

Practice Labs

Practice Labs is an IT competency hub, where live-lab environments give access to real equipment for hands-on practice of essential cybersecurity skills.

Clayden Law

Clayden Law

Clayden Law are experts in information technology, data privacy and cybersecurity law.

Feitian Technologies

Feitian Technologies

Feitian Technologies provides authentication and transaction security products for financial institutions, telecoms, government and leading business enterprises.

Emerson Electric Co

Emerson Electric Co

Emerson provides industrial automation systems and associated cybersecurity solutions to protect critical process control systems from cyber attack.

SISA

SISA

SISA is a payment security specialist providing payment security assurance services, training and products to over 1,000 customers across the globe.

Cobalt Labs

Cobalt Labs

Pen Testing as a Service for Modern SaaS Businesses. Cobalt is redefining the modern pen test for companies who want serious hacker-like testing built into their development cycle.

Government CSIRT - Chile

Government CSIRT - Chile

Government CSIRT is the Computer Security Incident Response Team for State networks and government cyberspace in Chile.

IronNet Cybersecurity

IronNet Cybersecurity

IronNet’s product and services provide enterprise-wide security management and visibility of your network, users and assets.

Information & eGovernment Authority (iGA) - Bahrain

Information & eGovernment Authority (iGA) - Bahrain

The Information & eGovernment Authority facilitates many services catering to different parts of the community within the IT sector in Bahrain including information security.

Cyber Academy

Cyber Academy

Cyber Academy is one of the first institutions in the SE Europe region that provides a hands-on program in cyber security, blockchain and AI.

NSO Group

NSO Group

NSO Group develops technology that enables government intelligence and law enforcement agencies to prevent and investigate terrorism and crime.

Veritas Technologies

Veritas Technologies

Veritas provide industry-leading solutions that cover all platforms with backup and recovery, business continuity, software-defined storage and information governance.

Securden

Securden

Securden provide an all-in-one Platform for Next-Gen Privileged Access Governance, helping you to prevent identity thefts, malware propagation, cyber attacks, and insider exploitation.

Sunartek Labs

Sunartek Labs

Sunartek are equipped with expert resources and advanced technology to identify cyber threats and prevent any breach, bypassing the security network of your organization.

Knowledge Lens

Knowledge Lens

Knowledge Lens builds innovative solutions on niche technology areas such as Big Data Analytics, Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Augmented Reality, and Blockchain.

DoQubiz Technology

DoQubiz Technology

DoQubiz is using the idea of security through obscurity to develop their proprietary Fractal Security Engine that implements a highly resilient data protection protocol.

NXTsoft

NXTsoft

NXTsoft’s solutions help businesses secure, connect and optimize their data to maximize revenue opportunities, enhance profitability, and mitigate cybersecurity risk.

Q5id

Q5id

At Q5id, we prove that your customers' digital identity and real-world identity are the same, our verification and authentication solution delivers a Proven and Secure digital identity for everyone.