Beyond Technical Skills: Human, Emotional, and Resilience Demands in CSIRT Operations

This study seeks to explore how human factors influence the well-being and performance of CSIRT members, based on qualitative interviews conducted as part of the Dynamo project. The interviews were analyzed using the IPA model, and five themes emerged: Continuous vigilance as an operational norm, chronic overload and lack of recognition, moral dilemmas and decision making under pressure, human factors and soft skills in crisis management, emotional distress and need for psychosocial support. The results underline that technical skills and emotional, social, and organizational dynamics influence the effectiveness of CSIRT members. This study reinforces the importance of integrating human factors to increase the effectiveness of incident response.