Survey Sees AI, Automation Cast Shadow Over Security Careers
A survey of 350 security professionals in the U.S., Singapore, Germany, Australia and the United Kingdom suggests younger cybersecurity professionals tend to be more conflicted about advances in artificial intelligence (AI) than their older colleagues.
Conducted by the research firm Censuswide on behalf of Exabeam, a provider of a security information event management platform, the survey finds that more than half of the respondents (53%) under age 45 agree or strongly agree that AI and machine learning are a threat to their job security. In contrast, just 25% of respondents 45 and older who feel the same.
Nearly half of respondents (47%) under 45 years old said their job security is also threatened by automation, with 89% recognizing automation will improve their jobs. Only 22% of cybersecurity professionals over 45 said automation represented a threat to their jobs, with 80% reporting they expect automation to simplify their jobs.
Despite being among those who are generally threatened by automation software, 100% of respondents aged 18-24 reported feeling secure in their roles.
Samantha Humphries, security strategist at Exabeam, said that results appear to reflect the fact that many of the manual security tasks that tend to be performed by less experienced members of a cybersecurity team are ripe for automation. Most survey respondents have less than 10 years of experience (83%), with just over a third (34%) having been in the cybersecurity field for five years or less.
Additionally, one-third of respondents do not have formal cybersecurity degrees, which Humphries noted reflects efforts to attract individuals with more diverse backgrounds to fill open cybersecurity positions.
The level of cybersecurity automation that might ultimately be achieved is, of course, a matter of debate. However, the implications are profound. There are potentially millions of unfilled cybersecurity positions around the world. The issue is that any of the tasks that an entry-level cybersecurity professional might need to perform today may soon be automated. That issue raises concerns over the long-term viability of a cybersecurity career. However, there’s also plenty of opportunity for cybersecurity professionals to address higher-level challenges assuming they can gain enough experience, noted Humphries.
Overall, the survey finds most cyber security professionals are content, with satisfaction around role and responsibilities (96%), salary (87%) and work/life balance (77%) all being relatively high.
Just over half (53%) of respondents reported their jobs that are either stressful or very stressful, which Humphries noted is down from previous surveys Exabeam has conducted.
Humphries also noted the number of women in the cybersecurity field continues to make steady progress. Male respondents made up a little more than three-quarters of respondents (78%).
Th impact AI and automation may have on cybersecurity is likely to be more pronounced than many other fields of endeavor. However, much like IT itself, cybersecurity jobs today often involve rote manual tasks that are not especially enjoyable. The challenge many cybersecurity professionals face now is making sure they have the appropriate level of skills required to succeed both today and tomorrow. In fact, Humphries said the most important thing any organization can be doing right now is affording cybersecurity professionals more time for training as part of a larger effort to continuously up-level skills.
