What happens when you gather some of the sharpest minds in cybersecurity for an end-of-year chat about where we've been and where we're heading?

Welcome to Razorwire's Christmas special. Today I’m chatting with some of our favourite guests from 2025: clinical traumatologist Eve Parmiter, cyber futurist Oliver Rochford, CISO and podcast host Marius Poskus and occupational psychologist Bec McKeown for roundup of the cybersecurity industry this year. This isn't a glossy year-in-review full of predictions and corporate optimism. We're talking about what's actually happened: how our teams are STILL burning out, the junior pipeline that's being hollowed out by premature AI deployment, the CISOs who are resigning because they're handed accountability without support and the businesses that want the appearance of security rather than the reality of it.

Summary

2025 has been a year of contradictions. Fewer ransomware victims are paying up, which suggests resilience is working. But burnout rates in cybersecurity remain above 59% and the systemic issues causing it aren't being addressed. Oliver brings data showing that AI-driven threat intelligence has been more marketing than reality. Marius shares why his CISO resignation letter post hit over 300,000 impressions and 3,400 comments. Eve explores whether there could be legal protections for cybersecurity professionals experiencing occupational trauma. Bec questions why security teams are expected to work under military-level pressure with none of the training or support.

We’re also looking ahead to 2026. Oliver predicts salaries will rise. Marius sees organisations scrambling to fix the mess that AI has created. Eve and Bec discuss what the younger generation might teach us about boundaries and refusing to put up with workplace nonsense. And we all agree on one thing: gravity needs levity. If you're going to survive in this industry, you REALLY need to laugh.

Three Key Talking Points:

The Theatre of Security

Understand why organisations hire CISOs for accountability but don't give them budget, support or a seat at decision making tables. Marius explains how this creates a cycle where security leaders are blamed when things go wrong, despite having no power to prevent them.

The Junior Pipeline Crisis

Discover why premature AI deployment is hollowing out entry-level roles across industries, including cybersecurity and law. We discuss the long term consequences of replacing junior analysts with AI before understanding what you're losing.

Burnout as Occupational Trauma

Learn why burnout in cybersecurity isn't just about individual resilience. Eve explores whether legal protections could be granted for work that causes inescapable harm, drawing parallels with content moderators and healthcare workers.

If you want an honest conversation about the state of cybersecurity in 2025 and what's coming in 2026, this is it.

On the appearance of security:

"Companies do not want security. They want the appearance of security. They hire a CISO to be the person who's accountable, the person who's on insurance papers, the person's name who's on client contracts, the person who is a face of the company of doing security, but actually he's not supported in budgetary terms in any other way."

Marius Poskus

Listen to this episode on your favourite podcasting platform: https://razorwire.captivate.fm/listen