On 16 May 2024, The Mental Health In Cybersecurity Foundation Launched A Charter For Mental Health In Cybersecurity. Flow Guard Institute is proud to be one of the first 30 signatories from Germany to sign up for this landmark Charter.
Here’s what’s on the Charter:
As an organization we recognize that:
- Effective cyber security is fundamental to supporting successful business outcomes.
- Cyber security resilience is critical in protecting all organisations
- The delivery of sustained, effective cyber security of an organisation relies in part on the resilience of its cyber security teams and leaders.
- Cyber security teams operate in a relentless high-pressure environment.
- Stress, burnout and the deteriorating mental health of cybersecurity professionals is a real threat to the cyber security industry and the organisation they serve.
- Investing in the effective management of mental wellbeing within cyber security teams can help address this threat.
In response we will;
- Promote our signatory this charter to key stakeholders.
- Raise awareness at all relevant-decision making levels (including HR and recruitment).
- Foster an environment of understanding, openness and transparency for all staff experiencing stress/burnout or are becoming/have become mentally unwell.
- Monitor practices which lead to stress/burnout in the short term and impact mental well-being in the longer term and take steps to control and ultimately reduce them.
Further, we pledge to take the following actions:
- Active promote the charter.
- Refine and amplify best practices around employee mental health and well-being.
- Prioritize the well-being and mental health of cyber professionals, recognizing healthy and engaged individuals are fundamental to success and cyber resilience .
- Raising awareness of best practices and tools for individuals--at all levels of an organisation--to embrace ownership at an individual, team and multi-team level, recognizing that each employee plays a crucial role in shared success
As an organisation, we are committed to the Mental health Framework which underpins our values to supporting people every day, and through their working life.Let’s rewind a bit for background.
We came across Sarb and his co-authors, Pete and Paul when researching mental health in cybersecurity in 2023. The first version of the charter was published in their report. The report describes the relationship between stress and burnout and human performance in cybersecurity. It also describes factors that influence mental health in cybersecurity, e.g., skills-shortage, job insecurity and scapegoating. Additionally, the report also puts forth multiple research questions, suggests activities to support cybersecurity professionals and a draft of the recently launched charter for organisations to pledge their recognition towards mental health in cybersecurity.
We met with Sarb, who was generous to carve out face time with us. It was in our first conversation where he cordially invited us to join the open call in April, earlier this year in 2024 which has led to today.
Signing up for the charter.
And my first action in spreading awareness is to encourage you, the reader, to take a moment to think if the charter might help you and your organization invest better in cyber-resilience.
Flow Guard Institute is most excited about spreading knowledge awareness, scoping research directions and offering preventative and performance enhancing measures to mental health in cybersecurity and improving security outcomes.
Research question we’re currently pondering are along the lines of: What are positive outcomes of people responding to stressful situations? Can we position security practitioners in roles and situations that benefit the individual and the team? For example, we know that Security Operation Centers solve time coverage (24×7) via shifts, however, it might be worth (re)looking whether shift workers are working shifts based on their chronoytpe and circadian rhythm. If not, that’s a clear win-win as it benefits the individual and the team.
As we said earlier, we’re looking to spread knowledge awareness, so if you’re even a little curious to know more let’s talk.