With an increasingly complex threat landscape driven by distributed and hybrid workforces, the world is experiencing an unprecedented demand for cyber security skills.
And this is showing no signs of slowing down any time soon, which is good news for anyone considering a role in the field, but not so good when we consider lack of skills that are available to deal with the flood of threats that are drowning today’s enterprises.
This is putting increased pressure on cyber security practitioners who are trying to protect their organisations’ valuable data assets and have to deal with overloading and inadequate staff.
Carla Jacobs, principal cyber security specialist: strategy execution, at Vodacom, says: “Our jobs are demanding. They are pressurised, time-sensitive and sometimes very challenging.”
She says any cyber security expert, when asked why they work in this field, will likely say that they love safeguarding people, love the vast exposure across an organisation and love the rapidly changing landscape.
However, she says she doubts anyone will say they love the stress-free, calm and peaceful work they do. “In a space that is always switched on and always being stress-tested, how do you make sure your people are taken care of? To be honest, there are no silver bullets. In fact, you are probably asking how you can achieve this for yourself.”
Jacobs will be presenting on “How to lead when your cyber superheroes need a superhero”, at the ITWeb Security Summit 2022, to be held at the Sandton Convention Centre from 31 May to 2 June.
She will unpack strategies that have worked for her and her teams not just to survive a stressful environment, but to thrive in it.
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