Three Ways CIOs Can Counter Turnover From Cyberattacks

Ransomware attacks can take businesses completely offline, ruin brand reputation, and cost millions of dollars in payouts. However, many are unaware of the impact that ransomware is also having on the technology workforce.  

The ramifications of a cyberattack or other disaster, including the risk to one’s professional reputation, had 47% of business, and IT leaders expressing an intent to search for a new job outside of their current organization within the next 12 months, according to our recent report. Only 33% of them intend to remain in their role, less than half of whom are certain of their decision. This could have serious implications for the organizations left behind.

Senior leaders are under pressure to act before it’s too late. Understaffed IT teams can cause disruptions across the organization from tech support to preventing future attacks. Here are three ways to mitigate the impact that ransomware threats have on workforce turnover. 

Motivate the existing data protection talent

It is incumbent upon senior leadership to keep the talent they have so they can ensure preparedness for cyber resiliency and other disaster preparation. This will need to be a priority initiative in collaboration with the HR department, to offer competitive benefits and a supportive work environment. Upskilling the existing IT and security workforce will also keep the team up to date with the latest tech, trends in the threat landscape, and show that the organization is invested in their career growth.

Burnout among cybersecurity, IT, and data admin workers is a major problem in the industry. It’s not enough to just keep talent on staff – leaders need to prevent burnout as much as possible to keep employees operating to the best of their ability. One recent survey found that 83% of IT security professionals admit they or someone in their department has made errors due to burnout that have led to a security breach, and 77% say stress levels at work directly affect their ability to keep customer data safe.

Preventing burnout comes down to ensuring staff are adequately supported and not left to feel that the entire organization’s security posture falls on their shoulders. The overwhelming amount of security tools can also be a factor in stress and burnout, so it’s important to ensure all cybersecurity tools implemented in the organization are necessary and that the administrators of the tools are properly trained in how to use them. Automation and AI/ML can also help to take over some of the manual duties and reduce the workload on existing data protection talent. 

IT Automation News:

IBM Expands IT Automation Portfolio by Acquiring Pliant

Recruit new talent

While existing talent is important, it may no longer be enough to combat rising cyber threats. Leveraging new skills will allow leaders to protect data and modern production workloads more effectively, especially when it comes to matching cybercriminals who are using AI to uplevel their attacks. However, in today’s market, it’s not so easy to find new talent. There’s a scarcity of skilled IT workers, and the aforementioned burnout in the industry isn’t helping. A Korn Ferry analysis on the talent shortage found that the US could lose out on $162 billion worth of revenues annually unless it finds more high-tech workers.

Businesses that have stronger data protection and ransomware prevention practices in place will have an easier time recruiting talent. As found in the DPTR, many IT leaders are worried about the effects that a cyberattack could have on their careers and reputation. They won’t want to work for an organization that is vulnerable to these kinds of attacks.

During the recruitment process, show the potential new hire that the company takes data protection seriously. 

Another option to supplement existing staff while recruiting and onboarding new talent is to educate the entirety of the organization on data protection best practices, to reduce the risk of human error causing disruption or otherwise leaving the door open for cybercriminals. 

Latest IT Insights:

Cybersecurity Attack Surface Management Trends of 2024

Deploy managed BaaS or DRaaS services

Where human limitations come into play, relying on Backup-as-a-Service (BaaS) and Disaster Recovery-as-a-Service (DRaaS) providers can affirm leaders have the resources for primary technical support, operational monitoring, and solution-building, all while de-risking labor shortages. These platforms, especially when integrated with a cloud service, ensure reliability and confidence while providing a simple user experience. Taking the management and administration out of cyber resiliency allows IT staff to delegate and focus on other tasks, enhancing productivity. The added layer of cyber protection also provides the peace of mind that their organization’s data is safe and recoverable in the event of an attack, the importance of which cannot be overstated with the current fear in the marketplace around ransomware attacks and data loss. 

While these solutions cannot guarantee an end to cyberattacks, they can certainly alleviate the amount of pressure put on existing cybersecurity and IT teams to provide immediate, 24/7 support and results. With less strain and onus of responsibility, workers are far more likely to stay motivated, collaborate, cover all gaps, and ultimately strengthen the attack surface against future disasters.

[To share your insights with us as part of editorial or sponsored content, please write to sghosh@martechseries.com]