Every year, October’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month rightly shines a light on the importance of building a security-conscious workforce. But for many chief information security officers (CISOs) and cyber security professionals, this month can feel like another item on an already overflowing agenda. And though awareness campaigns are crucial, they represent only a fraction of what modern cyber leaders must deliver.
Today’s CISO is expected to be strategist, risk manager, technologist, business communicator and crisis responder, sometimes all at once. Their remit spans compliance with an ever-expanding regulatory landscape, oversight of operational security, data protection and governance, as well as alignment with wider business strategy. For instance, with the introduction of frameworks such as NIS2 and DORA, the role is more intertwined than ever with corporate resilience and board-level accountability.
At the same time, budgetary constraints continue to challenge even the most mature security functions. While threats evolve at pace, investment often lags behind. CISOs are tasked with balancing risk with cost as well as articulating the business value of prevention, quantifying the ROI of security investments and justifying decisions in environments where the measure of success is often invisible (i.e. the absence of incident).
Adding to this pressure is the constant scrutiny that comes from operating in a world of high-profile cyber events. Each breach reported in the media can, rightly so, trigger renewed questions from boards and customers, but it also heightens the sense of personal responsibility many CISOs already feel. The result is a role defined by both strategic importance and emotional intensity.
It is little surprise, then, that burnout among cyber security leaders is an increasingly recognised problem. Many CISOs report excessive workloads, difficulty disconnecting along with a sense of being permanently “on call”. The cognitive load of continuous vigilance, coupled with limited resources and rising expectations, have the potential to create conditions that are unsustainable without structural change.
Addressing burnout requires a cultural shift as much as an operational one. Boards and executive teams need to recognise that cyber security is a technical function as well as a human one. Providing the CISO with adequate authority, realistic budgets and a clear mandate is vital. Equally important is ensuring they are not isolated in carrying the full weight of operational defence and that everyone in the business has a part to play.
One practical way to ease the strain is by rethinking how responsibility is distributed across the security ecosystem. The CISO’s value lies in shaping strategy, translating risk into business terms and guiding organisational resilience, not in overseeing every operational detail. By drawing on trusted partners and managed service providers with deep technical expertise, organisations can ensure that monitoring, incident response and threat intelligence are handled efficiently and consistently to a high standard. This allows the CISO and their leadership team to balance partner expertise with internal focus on governance, risk prioritisation and embedding security into business decision-making, rather than being consumed by day-to-day firefighting.
Ultimately, Cybersecurity Awareness Month should not only encourage vigilance among employees but also inspire awareness of the demands placed on those leading the charge, particularly as attention on cyber attacks rises. Supporting CISOs means more than providing budgets and tools; it requires recognising the strategic nature of their role and surrounding them with the right expertise to deliver it effectively. When CISOs have the capacity to lead with clarity and confidence, supported by capable teams and partners, they can turn pressure into progress and drive the long-term security maturity their organisations need.
Sam Thornton is chief operating officer at Bridewell, a UK- and US-based cyber security consultancy.
