Constantly under attack. Worried about unknown vulnerabilities. Scrolling through news of high-profile ransomware incidents. Everyone is depending on you to protect your organization’s future. Cybersecurity sure is a stressful job.
But wait – according to US News, cybersecurity is not among the top 20 most stressful careers. How could this be? You might say it’s actually a whole lot of high-anxiety jobs rolled into one: Law enforcement officer, firefighter, paramedic, teacher…therapist. You’ve got to prepare for and respond to threats, educate and calm your colleagues, and be ready at any time to run into a burning building (metaphorically speaking, of course).
Cyberthreats are increasing, and they’re increasingly public. Security breaches and ransomware attacks are all over the news. And the stakes are extremely high for anyone in charge of protecting business continuity, data, customers, and your organization’s reputation. It’s understandable if you occasionally feel fearful, uncertain, and helpless.
We want to believe that our professional decision making is always based on rational analysis – that emotions aren’t a factor. By understanding the stress that comes with the job, cybersecurity teams can harness emotions for more effective results. Less stress allows your team to put things in perspective, focus on their mission, and be more attentive to real issues.
In high-stress situations, the ideal reaction is a combination of instinct and deliberative judgment. That perfect balance isn’t easy to find when the pressure is on. When one mode of decision-making wins out over the other, the result can either be too much haste or wasted time. In order to have a balanced response during critical moments, your whole team has got to be prepared. That means being educated about actual risks, putting fears into perspective, and developing interventions that decrease both fear and actual danger.
This paper examines the psychology of fear; the impact of learned helplessness on cybersecurity teams; and how Blumira gives you and your team more control to alleviate these issues.
Fear is among our most basic instincts. From an evolutionary perspective, it’s probably one of the main reasons our species is still around. Our ancestors who lacked the ability to sense danger and react without thinking were usually made into a meal.
In modern life, however, instincts can cause us to make rash, poorly-considered decisions that are driven by emotions rather than logic. The part of the brain called the amygdala is known to override rational thinking when we’re overcome by fear. That’s when impulse takes over and people freeze, flee, or fight.
In order to make good decisions under pressure, we need to be able to stay calm and rational in panic situations. Training and preparation can make all the difference when the stakes are high. For example, teaching a driver how to steer into a skid instead of slamming on the breaks will help them avoid a serious accident. Similarly, with intuitive tools and real-world training your cybersecurity team will be able to handle threats with confidence.
It's not possible to eliminate fear. The key is learning to handle it rationally and knowledgeably. Some managers may believe a certain level of fear keeps employees on their toes. In reality, it can create a culture of learned helplessness that’s destructive to the work environment.
Your IT or cybersecurity team can devolve into learned helplessness if they’re under persistent stress, their work is unfulfilling, and they feel like they’re not getting support. The consequences impact more than the employees themselves:
It’s easy to attribute a pervasive sense of stress and anxiety to the job itself – cybersecurity can be tedious, high-stakes, and exhausting. Realistically, you’re not going to ban emotion from any workplace. Even if it was possible, there are advantages to the quick, instinctive action that a jolt of adrenaline provides. Experienced leaders develop ways to harness emotions and support their teams with the tools, training, and information they crave to do their jobs fearlessly.
If you’re the leader of a cybersecurity team, you probably already worry about how the emotional aspects of the job impact the day-to-day work of your team. But what about you? Consider how your own emotions can throw a wrench into good decision making.
As you’re developing plans to protect your organization from cyberthreats, fear and uncertainty could make you overly cautious, or cause you to overspend on scatter-shot solutions that don’t integrate well. Or you might decide to “just make do” with the security features that come with your applications because the options are overwhelming.
No need to feel overwhelmed. Blumira SIEM + XDR is a comprehensive cybersecurity solution that helps you alleviate fear, uncertainty, and helplessness. Here’s how:
There is one more fear Blumira can help with – FOMO, the fear of missing out. Don’t let your team suffer FOMO when they find out that most Blumira users only spend 15 minutes per day on the platform, so they can spend the rest of the day on more important tasks.
Try Blumira XDR free for 30 days or use our Free SIEM with three cloud integrations and 14 days of data retention forever. Sign up today to start protecting your organization in minutes.