New research by Bitdefender discovered that 24% of companies have already suffered a data breach halfway through 2019.
The security firm conducted a survey of more than 6,000 info-security professionals from organizations across the US, EMEA and APAC.
While 57% of companies have experienced a data breach during the last years, 36% of infosec professionals stated that their companies could likely be facing a breach without knowing about it.
When respondents were asked about the skills and state of security at their organization, 57% of infosec professionals rated their organizations’ cybersecurity as either excellent or very good. However, 58% of respondents are worried about the readiness of their organizations in dealing with a cyberattack.
The survey also found that infosec professionals are becoming aware of the risks that their organizations face, with just under half (49%) reporting that they are up at night worrying about cybersecurity within their organization’s. Additionally, over a third of respondents report that general employees have a lack of cybersecurity training. The study also revealed that issues also arise at the top of organizations, with 57% of respondents admitting that C-Suite executives are least likely to comply with their organization’s cybersecurity policy.
Amongst the findings, the survey discovered that infosec professionals are suffering from breach fatigue, with 49% of respondents stating that their team have experience both alert and agent fatigue. The stress levels of employees are extremely high, due to their belief that their organization is more at risk of a cyber-attack as a result of being under-resourced.
Liviu Arsene, Global Cybersecurity Researcher at Bitdefender commented: “According to respondents, resources are such a stressor that 53% of infosec professionals have contemplated leaving their job due to under-resourcing in terms of staff. Resources are in fact such a bugbear that infosec pros say the main obstacles to their organizations’ strengthening their cybersecurity posture are a lack of budget and a lack of skilled personnel.”
The survey identified a need for the speed of response to increase, with over a fifth (29%) of professionals citing that it would take a week or longer to detect an advanced cyber-attack.
Arsene added: “Poor cybersecurity is an undeniable threat to businesses today. From the loss of customer trust to the impact on the bottom line it is critical for infosec professionals to get it right.
“Our advice would be to focus on critical areas of improvement.
The Hacked Off! Study reveals that infosec professionals believe that the main drivers for boosting their organizations’ cybersecurity profiles are improving data protection, and faster detection and response capabilities. In addition, respondents suggest investments also need to be made into more effective ways of detecting cyber threats, with ‘network traffic analysis’, and antimalware technology topping the list. And interestingly, they reveal EDR should not be discounted, with seven in ten infosec professionals believing that EDR can help prevent future attacks.”
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