Study: Cybersecurity burnout impacts 88% of cybersecurity and IT roles in Singapore. What can you do as an MSP to help?

Cybersecurity is now a top priority for businesses in Singapore as IT and business leaders understand the financial and reputational damage that cyberattacks can inflict.

However, relentless pressure from ever-evolving cyber attacks is leading to burnout among cybersecurity professionals.

A recent Sophos report found that 88% of cybersecurity professionals in Singapore are impacted by cybersecurity burnout and fatigue.

This is a real problem. This level of fatigue can lead to a decline in vigilance, creating openings for cybercriminals to exploit. In fact, 32% of respondents in the Sophos survey said burnout and fatigue make them less diligent in their roles with 23 per cent of respondents identifying this as contributing to a cybersecurity breach.

The toll of cybersecurity burnout

Cybersecurity professionals are under constant pressure to keep pace with an ever-increasing volume and sophistication of cyber threats.

Even the best resourced teams are bombarded with alerts, struggle to keep up with the latest patches, and face the relentless pressure of preventing attacks that could cripple their organisations, with the associated threat of finger pointing if an attack does succeed.

As a result, Singapore is seeing a rising rate of staff turnover in the cybersecurity sector – an indicator that the never-ending workload is starting to become unsustainable for cybersecurity professionals. 

Meanwhile, employers are grappling with an industry talent shortage. Compounding the problem, some skilled professionals are leaving the field altogether despite strong salary and benefit packages.

MSPs: the cavalry arrives

Managed Service Providers (MSPs) have a golden opportunity to address the challenge of cybersecurity burnout. Not only is demand for cybersecurity services strong, it’s also profitable.

The global managed security services market is expected to nearly double from US$36.05 billion to US$76.09 billion by 2028, with APAC being the fastest growing market, according to Mordor Intelligence.

The opportunity for MSPs is to implement systems that can be applied across many organisations to manage cybersecurity workload efficiently. For example:

Security monitoring and threat detection: MSPs can provide 24/7 monitoring of an organisation’s network for security threats, using their expertise and resources to investigate suspicious activity and potential threats.

Security incident response: In the event of a cyberattack, an MSP can help an organisation to contain the breach, remediate the damage, and recover their systems.

Patch management: MSPs can automate the process of patching vulnerabilities in an organisation’s systems. This helps to ensure that critical security updates are applied promptly.

Security awareness training: MSPs can provide security awareness training to an organisation’s employees. This training can help employees to identify and avoid phishing scams and other social engineering attacks.

Once MSP customers start leveraging the MSP’s expertise, their internal IT security teams are freed up to focus on more strategic initiatives.

The rise of the managed security services market

The managed security services market is expected to experience significant growth in the coming years.

The Asia Pacific region is expected to be the fastest growing market, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 10% per year in Singapore.

Why Sophos is the ideal partner for MSPs

As a leader in the cybersecurity market, Sophos offers the portfolio, platform, and program for MSPs to build the cyber-confidence to grow their security practice.

Importantly, Sophos has a channel-first approach and an understanding of the importance of profitable and sustainable business growth.

With extensive experience working with MSPs, Sophos provides the tools, resources, and programs to help MPS  grow their businesses and compete effectively.

Sophos offers a comprehensive portfolio of security solutions that can be delivered through the MSP channel. These solutions include sophisticated endpoint protection against a wide range of cyber threats, including ransomware, malware, and zero-day attacks, a unified platform for managing security and managed threat response.

Sophos helps MSPs boost profits with resources like marketing support, lead generation and co-branding tools, easing their entry into cybersecurity.

By partnering with Sophos, MSPs can become trusted cybersecurity advisors to their customers, tooled with the security solutions and services they need to combat cybersecurity burnout and protect their valuable data.

Grow your business with Sophos

Learn more about building a thriving and profitable cybersecurity practice with Sophos MSP Connect Flex.