Is My Job Even Real? Bullshit Jobs in Infosec

Ever feel like you’re just ticking off compliance checklists while everything is on fire? Like your job in security is less about protecting systems and more about convincing auditors your team exists?

You’re not the only one.

Inspired by David Graeber’s theory of bullshit jobs, I surveyed InfoSec workers on their thoughts: is our work meaningful, or just another layer of security theatre? (You might have even filled it in! And yes, to the person who asked if I’m doing okay: I promise, mostly).

But, this isn’t a solutions’ talk. It’s a provocation for anyone working in or around security to reflect on what our work is, and has become, and what it could be. It’s a talk about performativity and purpose. Maybe a bit of a rant. Maybe a bit of data-driven confirmation that you’re not imagining things.

And a question: do we need to build something better?

The published dataset includes aggregated survey responses and normalised local information. To protect participants’ privacy, it does not include submission dates or times, long-form written responses, interview transcripts, or any details that could enable identification.

Slides (PDF Download) · Recording · Dataset · Data Analysis · Zine (Coming Soon!) · Kawaiicon

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Is My Job Even Real? Bullshit Jobs in Infosec © 2025 by errbufferoverfl is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0