New data has found that around two thirds of professionals working in cybersecurity have their mental health impacted by ransomware.

Ransomware attacks have soared over the last couple of years, exhausting cybersecurity professionals around the world.

Businesses can become more vulnerable to cyberattacks after one has taken place, which often leads to cybersecurity employee stress, burnout and potentially quitting the workforce.

The new State of Ransomware Readiness report, carried out by cybersecurity specialist Mimecast, has revealed that the burden of ransomware attacks hasn’t relented for the past few years, and it’s becoming clear that these attacks carry a long-term impact on employees.

According to the research, around 61% agreed that that ransomware attacks have had a negative impact on their mental health.

More than half (58%) said that that their role gets more stressful every year, which tracks with the increasing difficulties faced after a ransomware attack takes place, and the increasing number that occur.

Data also found that many professionals are reaching their breaking point, with almost half (42%) considering leaving their role in the next two years due to stress or burnout.

Commenting on the research, Peter Coroneos, founder of mental health support charity Cybermindz, said: “These numbers validate what we are seeing globally as we talk to CISOs about the stresses of working in cyber.

“The factors that drive stress and burnout are well understood within cyber but poorly appreciated outside of it, largely because much of the work is unseen — that is, until a breach occurs, then invariably the cyber team is called to account.

“It’s an unforgiving, thankless role and one where mental health support has become a critical piece of sustaining our defenders. Our shared challenge is how quickly we can bring relief and restoration before more of our peers succumb to the pressure.”

Having critical cybersecurity measures in place such as cybersecurity training for employees can help reduce the risks of attacks.

As a result, cybersecurity experts can dedicate more of their time to prevent attacks, which reduces their stress levels, and the risk that they would be leaving the industry due to burnout. It also means businesses won’t need to hire as many cyber professionals, at a time when the specialism comes at a premium.

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Despite the negative impacts of ransomware on mental health, the report also discussed some areas that the cybersecurity industry could focus on to help mitigate the problem.

Although the threat is growing, the report suggested opportunities for businesses to evolve their cybersecurity strategies, and address the challenges of complex enterprise networks, limited resources, stretched teams, and complex threats.

A section of the report said: “This means businesses must focus not only on mitigation, but proactive prevention, to improve their threat detection capabilities and attack responses – and ultimately, lower the personal and business cost of ransomware.”

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