Security News > 2024 > January > Ransomware attacks hospitalizing security pros, as one admits suicidal feelings
Ransomware attacks are being linked to a litany of psychological and physical illnesses reported by infosec professionals, and in some cases blamed for hospitalizations.
The industry is as renowned for causing high stress levels as it is for high salaries, and episodes of burnout are so common that infoseccers say the mental and physical toll of dealing with ransomware attacks isn't sufficiently recognized or appreciated.
One RUSI interview with a security specialist working for a consultancy revealed that a ransomware attack was so mentally damaging, due to their personal identity being so closely tied to their professional success, that the incident drove them to the brink of suicide.
UK education regulator Ofsted's role, which involves multiple follow-up surveys following a ransomware incident in the schools sector, caused some security staff to say they felt "Raw" long after the attack was mitigated.
"While the psychological harm a ransomware attack causes is of course highly context-specific and also depends on the individuals involved and their existing mental health conditions, the interviews stressed the significance, extent, and multiplicity of ways in which victims experience psychological harm," the report stated.
The financial harms associated with ransomware attacks are almost exclusively focused on the victim organization, the recipient of the ever-lofty ransom demands.
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