On October 8th, Critical Path Security CEO Patrick Kelley will lead a breakout session at GridSecCon 2025, focused on a challenge many cybersecurity professionals quietly face every day: burnout, imposter syndrome, and the toll of constant pressure in defending critical infrastructure.
The Session: Copenhagen Burnout Inventory – Cybersecurity Edition
The session, “Mental Health in Cybersecurity: Leveraging the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory,” will explore both the personal and financial impact of burnout in the cybersecurity field. Unlike traditional assessments, the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI) has been adapted specifically for SOC and IR environments.
Attendees will learn how the tool measures operational stress across three key dimensions:
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Emotional Exhaustion – the drain defenders feel after endless incidents and alerts.
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Cynicism & Detachment – when users or systems start to feel like “the enemy.”
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Personal Accomplishment – whether the work feels meaningful and successful.
By quantifying stress, teams can move past guesswork and take targeted, data-driven steps to protect the health of the people protecting the grid.
From Awareness to Action
This session won’t just stop at assessment. It will provide practical strategies for building resilience, evaluating workplace stress, and making the case for systemic improvements that support long-term mental health in high-pressure environments.
The Mental Health Village
This year, Critical Path Security is proud to partner with Léargas Security to support the Mental Health Village at GridSecCon. The Village will provide a dedicated space for conversations, tools, and community support around mental wellness in cybersecurity. It’s a step toward normalizing these discussions in an industry where silence has too often been the default.
Why It Matters
Burnout in cybersecurity isn’t just a personal issue—it’s an operational one. Fatigue drives mistakes, fuels turnover, and weakens the resilience of the very teams tasked with keeping critical infrastructure secure. Addressing it head-on is as much a part of grid security as patching vulnerabilities or hardening networks.
Join us at GridSecCon 2025 to explore how mental health tools like the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory can change the way we measure, understand, and respond to stress in cybersecurity. Together, we can strengthen not only our systems but also the people who defend them.