By Thom Carter

According to a recently published report by Trellix, nearly all CISOs say they need better tech solutions for their organisations to be and remain more cyber resilient amid a tumultuous threat landscape.

This is just one of the findings uncovered from Trellix’s The Mind of the CISO 2023 report, where over 500 global CISOs working in large (1,000+ employee) organisations across myriad industries were questioned about how they’re faring in their security efforts, and the new and continued challenges they’re facing.

While 96 per cent of respondents said that they need better solutions for cybersecurity effectiveness, 94 per cent agreed that having the right tools in place would save them significant time. A further 81 per cent said that having the right tech would reduce the amount of overtime they work.

The report also highlighted the sheer number of tools that SOC teams have at their disposal: 25 is the average number of security tools per organisation, with 58 per cent of all organisations surveyed using more than 20 security solutions. Despite the quantity of security tools available internally, only 34 per cent of CISOs said they have the tech needed to be cyber secure.

DIGIT Leader 2023- Scotland’s Technology Event for Leaders

On this overproliferation of tech, one CISO — who works in the US public sector — commented: “We get tool exhaustion at some places where money is just thrown at tools and they’re only using a quarter of it.”

In terms of further challenges for CISOs, 35 per cent said there were too many different sources of information; the same number pointed to the changing legal landscape and regulatory mandates as a notable challenge; 34 per cent mentioned a growing attack surface; the same number said a shortage of skilled staff and the ability to recruit and retain knowledgeable talent; and 31 per cent said a lack of buy-in and use from other parts of the company.

These added and continued pressures are undeniably making CISOs’ jobs more strained. According to the survey, 86 per cent of respondents — either in their past or current role — have managed a major cybersecurity incident. And when a breach happens, 72 per cent feel fully or mostly accountable, feeling worried and under pressure as they resolve the incident.

On the subject of CISOs and stress, just two months ago, DIGIT reported on the news that 25 per cent of cybersecurity leaders will pursue different roles by 2025 due to workplace stress.

Additionally, Trellix’s report also underscored the impact that large security incidents have across the company. The five most poignant company-wide impacts are as follows: 44 per cent of respondents cited the SecOps team being under significant stress; 43 per cent said major attrition to the SecOps team; another 43 per cent said increased insurance premiums; 37% said network downtime; and 34 per cent said customer and/or employee data loss.

Commenting on the report’s publication, Bryan Palma, CEO of Trellix, said: “Our research shows CISOs are motivated by a mission to protect. Yet, CISOs tell us they feel unsupported, unheard, and invisible.”

“I’ve been a CISO, it can be the loneliest position in tech,” Palma continued. “Now is the time, with AI in the hands of both good and bad actors, to revolutionize SecOps strategies and fight back against criminals. We need to empower our CISOs to win every time.”