The IT team at the Hospital Clínic works at a frenetic pace: they are “saturated” and hardly sleep
The seizure of this data has set off all the alarms, especially among the Clínic’s IT team, which has been working at a frantic pace since Sunday to restore the system and minimize damage. Sources close to them tell EL PERIÓDICO that they are “saturated”, who sleep three hours a day and have no time to look at their cell phones or to be with their families.
This situation is not anecdotal, but a chronic cyst that afflicts experts in cybersecurity. “We are like soccer goalkeepers: if you stop the threat, you are doing your job, but if they mark you, it’s all your fault,” explains Álex, who left the profession in 2019 after years of frustration. “The bad guys only have to win once. You have to win them all,” he adds. Jorge Louzao, ethical hacker with 24 years of experience.
“Perpetual Alert”
94% of Spanish companies suffered at least one cyberattack during 2022, according to a recent study by the consultancy Deloitte. That makes Spain in the third country in the world most affected by computer attacks. SMEs alone suffer up to 40,000 attacks a day, according to Data 101. An incessant wave of problems that forces workers to be “on perpetual alert.”
Behind those numbers are people. Many of them end up giving up their personal lives to respond to the requirements from work. “I remember being in Aquadiver and having to leave my husband and children in their swimsuits because he had to resolve a crisis,” she explains. Orejon JungleCEO of cyber-investigation firm on BRANDING. “I don’t know anyone who hasn’t given up on vacation with their family to work.”
“I don’t know anyone who hasn’t abandoned their family vacations to work”
Selva Orejón, executive director of onBRANDING
The experts consulted by EL PERIÓDICO claim to have been workaholics, extending their days to 15 hours a day. “I got to the point that I was having dinner with my brother, he told me that he would be a father and I didn’t even know why he was with the laptop,” confesses the technician. Peter Alcoberro. “I didn’t realize until my father told me, just before he died, that he had wasted his time. I have done nothing but work.”
This problem, they point out, is also due to the self-demand imposed by this high volume of cyberattacks. “You start working on weekends to meet the objectives of the project and you still can’t. I even changed my flat to be closer to work,” adds Álex. Louzao “always” carried a suitcase in the car “in case I had to go to work in another country” and Alcoberro imposed certain rhythms that led him to scold colleagues “because they wanted to go pick up their children from school.”
Little investment, bad direction
This exposure, they denounce, is also due to the lack of investment in cybersecurity teams. “There are brutally underpaid sites where juniors do the job of seniors,” he explains. Bruno Pérez Juncà, computer forensic legal expert. “You eat the problems of others, you save their asses and also it does not compensate you, neither financially nor with thanks.”
“My brother told me that he would be a father and I didn’t find out because he was with the laptop”
Pere Alcoberro, cloud architect technician
Neutralizing computer attacks is by no means an easy task. Even less if direction does not help. “There are many bosses who are not cybersecurity technicians, but positions politicians that impose perspectives that are not compatible with reality. That led us to accept impossible problems that will be your fault on top of that, “denounces Álex. “The administrations take advantage of the vocation of many professionals, because without vocation it is impossible to endure,” adds Orejón.
This mismanagement occurs both in the public administration and in private companies. “When you are committed to large clients, the control they have over you is very high,” laments Álex. “Your company does not defend you and yields to the interests of the client.”
Mental diseases
In many cases, that distress translates into the mental health and physics of cybersecurity professionals. Each new crisis deteriorates his state and accentuates the ‘burnout‘, a mental disorder derived from chronic stress already recognized by the WHO. “I needed professional help and ended up hospitalized with diabetes“, explains Louzao. The somatization of stress is something common in the sector. “A year ago I suffered a vertigo attack that left me blocked,” says Pérez Juncà, who had also suffered a crisis of anxiety. “You can be very technically prepared, but sometimes the human part surpasses you.”
“I needed professional help and ended up hospitalized with diabetes”
Jorge Louzao, ethical hacker
Those stressful rhythms burned Louzao so much that he decided to go to work for a multinational, which has allowed him a more relaxed job. “I have gone from having bosses who thought that by making a few beers on Friday you would stop suffering from stress to having Psychological Support and limit my hours,” he says.
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Other professionals agree that the work culture of large companies is healthier. “We can provide our teams with the necessary personnel (…) the lack of investment in other companies forces the workers to be at their best,” he adds Michael Lopezgeneral director in Spain of the American company Barracuda Networks.
The increase in cyberattacks and the resulting health problems are making this culture of care gain weight in the sector. Without going any further, the Catalan firm onBRANDING, with seven employees, already has a therapist to support them. “Little by little, awareness grows,” says Pérez Juncà. “Let’s get better.”