Cybersfetyconnections February 27, 2023, vol#107
- Covid-19 Digital transformation and the ensuing cybersecurity concerns.
- Breaches can result from internal employees due to accidents or malicious acts.
- Current state of cybersecurity and steps to help organizations prevent employees/staff from cybersecurity breaches.
Covid-19 Digital Transformation
Covid-19 brought about digital transformation which led to the remote and hybrid work model.
As a result, many people connect with devices remotely to organizations’ networks. Plenty of devices connecting remotely have created many attacks surfaces which cybercriminals capitalize.
Internal Actors
While the emphasis has been on preventing cyberattacks from external actors, the threat can also come from internal actors within the organization. According to this report, Business Leaders Insider concerns about 71% of business leaders worry about accidental data breaches from staff.
This statics is almost the same for external actors at 75%. Along the same line, 23% of business leaders are also concerned about data breaches resulting from malicious acts of employees/staff.
According to this survey, EisnerAmper’s Outsourced IT Services organizations are not confident about the current state of cybersecurity readiness with 51% being somewhat prepared, 39% very prepared, 6% not prepared at all, and 4% unsure.
In terms of internal cybersecurity readiness, 57% are “somewhat confident,” 37% are “very confident,” and 6% are “not at all confident.”
Here is the current state of things from the survey and recommended steps.
Training not a cure all
As already discussed in several blogs, training has been recommended as a way to help with ensuring cybersecurity awareness. There should be continuous training and awareness as well as upgrade to technology. About 50% hold regular training, only 44% did training in the last six months, 25% did training more than seven months ago, with a surprising 31% having never done any cybersecurity training.
Cybersecurity budget
About 71% of respondents indicated they would keep the cybersecurity budget the same even in an economic downturn, while 21% would reduce their budget with only 8% planning to increase their budget.
Of the respondents, 32% responded cybersecurity budget was 1%-3% of the total technology budget, and 30% said that the budget line was 4%-6%. Just 23% said the spending level was 10% or higher.
This is concerning since cybercriminals may be aware that in an economic downturn organization will reduce cybersecurity spending. This situation puts organizations at risk of cyberattacks. As mentioned last week, it is important to protect the valuable assets of the organization.
It is advisable to make the cybersecurity budget an important issue during an economic boom or downturn to prevent loss from cyber breaches.
Employees
Even though there may be an economic downturn looming, organizations are not reducing IT/cybersecurity staffing. Only 5% plan to reduce staffing, 24% plan to increase staffing, and a whopping 67% will keep staffing levels the same.
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