April 28, 2026
No raise, all risk
Cybersec is a thankless job: expanding workload and shrinking pay packet
The internet says security workers get all the blame, none of the cash
TLDR: Most cybersecurity workers got no pay rise in 2025 even though attacks are rising and the job is more important than ever. Commenters say companies treat security like a boring cost center — useful in a crisis, ignored the rest of the time — while others warn that neglect could end very badly.
Cybersecurity workers — the people meant to stop hacks, leaks, and corporate nightmares — just got crowned IT’s most under-loved employees. The new Harvey Nash numbers are brutal: 71 percent worldwide and a jaw-dropping 77 percent in the UK got no pay rise in 2025, even as online threats keep getting worse. That stat lit up the community, and the comments were less “mild concern” and more group therapy with pitchforks.
The loudest mood? Companies only care about security when something is already on fire. One commenter compared it to waste management — necessary, unglamorous, and only noticed when it fails. Another basically called the whole profession “applied insurance,” saying these teams don’t make money, they just help firms avoid disaster and lawsuits, which makes them easy targets when budgets get tight. Ouch. Others piled on, saying the job has turned into a miserable maze of false alarms, blame-shifting, and thankless management roles where you inherit a mess and get judged for it.
But there was drama on the other side too: some warned bosses are being wildly complacent, because cheap AI tools are making it easier for amateurs to launch attacks, and a huge, shocking breach may be just one headline away. The darkest joke in the thread? Security teams are apparently so effective that their reward is... leadership deciding they’re no longer worth paying. Peak workplace comedy, if your comedy tastes like burnout.
Key Points
- •Harvey Nash data says cybersecurity professionals were the least likely IT workers to receive pay rises in 2025, with 71 percent globally and 77 percent in the UK seeing no salary increase.
- •Across 53 countries surveyed, 45 percent of all tech workers received pay rises, while DevOps led disciplines at 56 percent and more than half of workers in infrastructure, AI/ML, and product management got increases.
- •Cybersecurity workers rank in the bottom three for workplace satisfaction despite being among the top three most in-demand roles in tech.
- •Harvey Nash CIO Ankur Anand says successful security teams can be undervalued by boards, while AI, legacy systems, distributed work, and constant pressure are increasing workload and burnout risk.
- •The article says cyber threats are increasing, citing the UK's National Cyber Security Centre, Check Point, Fortinet, and the World Economic Forum, even as full-time cyber job opportunities decline and the labor market shifts toward employers.