OCTOBER 12, 2021 – Trend Micro Incorporated (TYO: 4704; TSE: 4704), a global cybersecurity leader, today revealed findings from its global survey on the resilience of Security Operations Centers (SOCs) as they continue to encounter a rising number of cybersecurity threats to their businesses.

The global survey polled IT specialists in 21 countries and included 101 Canadian IT security decision-makers in their findings. Overall, study results found that just under half (46%) of SOC/IT security teams were overwhelmed by security alerts. Additionally, almost three-quarters (71%) of respondents reported being negatively impacted emotionally by their work managing cybersecurity threats and alerts. This includes almost half (43%) reporting they felt so stressed at work they were unable to relax.

“Burnout due to cybersecurity is real. Our data shows just how high the number of Canadian IT professionals experiencing negative emotional effects due the ongoing cadence of security threats is, and this is only exasperated by their concerns of not having the right defensive systems in place to deal with them,” says Greg Young, Vice President of Cybersecurity for Trend Micro. “We expect cyber threats to continue to increase, particularly due to the uptick in ransomware attacks and the personal impact it’s having on IT professionals as a result.

The survey also found that more than half (52%) of Canadian respondents were not highly confident about their organization’s ability to prioritize and respond to security alerts. This, despite companies surveyed reporting having an average of 23 security monitoring solutions in place to deal with ongoing threats. Furthermore, when it came to security infrastructure already in place, two in five companies (41%) admit to not using their existing systems. Reasons for not using their systems included them being out of date (46%), a lack of integration (44%), and difficulties around using it (32%).

“Throughout the pandemic, most companies have fast-tracked their organizations move to a remote and cloud-heavy world. Change can create cracks in the defenses, meaning a greater attack surface and less visibility” Young added. “The world has a shortage of cybersecurity talent, and we need to better care for the cybersecurity teams we have and support them to the best of our abilities. Cybersecurity staff burnout is a real problem that won’t fix itself.”

Other topline Canadian findings include:

• 65% of companies surveyed are either expecting or already dealing with a data breach.
• 82% of companies surveyed have a security operations centre (SOC).
• Just under half of SOC/IT security teams operate 24/7 (45%).
• On average 25% of time is spent investigating false alert positives.

Trend Micro Vision One is the company’s answer to the struggles of SOC teams. Prioritized, correlated alerts using data from the entire IT environment help teams spend their time more wisely. Fewer alerts and stronger intelligence allow teams to regain balance in their work life and ease the emotional toll of security.

To find out more, please read the accompanying report.

*Research methodology
The study is based on interviews with 2,303 IT security decision makers in 21 countries. This includes leaders who run SOC teams (85%) and those who manage SecOps from within their IT security team (15%). All respondents came from 250+ employee companies.

About Trend Micro
Trend Micro, a global cybersecurity leader, helps make the world safe for exchanging digital information. Fueled by decades of security expertise, global threat research, and continuous innovation, Trend Micro's cybersecurity platform protects hundreds of thousands of organizations and millions of individuals across clouds, networks, devices, and endpoints. As a leader in cloud and enterprise cybersecurity, the platform delivers a powerful range of advanced threat defense techniques optimized for environments like AWS, Microsoft, and Google, and central visibility for better, faster detection and response. With 7,000 employees across 65 countries, Trend Micro enables organizations to simplify and secure their connected world. www.TrendMicro.com.