UK businesses are struggling to cope with multiple pressing cybersecurity challenges, as a new study from Keeper Security reports . Keeper Security’s Cybersecurity Report 2021 shows that cyber attacks are increasingly frequent, sophisticated and vicious, while at the same time UK businesses are ill-prepared and too slow to respond.
As a result, leaders would rather indulge in the blame game after a cyberattack rather than invest in strengthening their defenses.
The report finds that more than nine in ten UK businesses (92%) have experienced a cyberattack in the past 12 months and three quarters (78%) say they are ill-prepared to face this threat. In addition, almost a third (31%) believe that the CTO should be held accountable in the event of a successful cyberattack.
This heavy responsibility actually reflects a drop in cybersecurity standards: 36% of senior IT managers admit to having kept a cyberattack to themselves, while 32% admit to having used weak identifiers such as “password” or “admin” to protect users. data.
“UK businesses are obviously concerned about their cybersecurity and, as our report showed, the challenges are manifold and span everything from budget to productivity,” said Darren Guccione, CEO and co-founder of Keeper Security.
“Despite a willingness to step up their security efforts, businesses face many competing challenges and, naturally, don’t always make cybersecurity investments a priority. Our report is an urgent reminder to companies that cybersecurity issues must be tackled proactively and as a matter of priority, otherwise they face much more serious consequences ”.
The main observations of the report are:
- An overwhelming majority of UK businesses (92%) are aware of gaps or weaknesses in their cybersecurity defense, but less than half (40%) are actively working to address them
- Two-thirds (66%) of UK companies have relaxed their cybersecurity policies in the past 12 months to allow staff to work remotely or boost productivity
- 58% of IT professionals find that their company staff do not understand the full extent of the consequences of poor cyber hygiene
- 61% of UK companies experience a skills shortage to manage cybersecurity
- The financial repercussions of cyber attacks are severe: indeed, they cost nearly one in ten UK companies (8%) over £ 1million.
- A very large majority (87%) of IT managers are in favor of the establishment of a national body responsible for overseeing the application of good online security practices.
- And almost all (91%) agree that UK businesses should be required by law to put basic cybersecurity protections in place to operate.
Also Read: Self-Healing Cybersecurity Systems: How Close Are They to Becoming a Reality?
“Organizations struggle to implement the right solutions to deal with cyber attacks and the consequences are damaging and costly,” said Craig Lurey, CTO and co-founder of Keeper Security.
“The evolving situation due to Covid-19 has resulted in an increase in hybrid working modes, further complicating the achievement of effective cybersecurity. But if companies want to bounce back completely after the pandemic, they must put their safety hygiene in order without delay ”.
Despite the upsurge in cyber attacks and growing pressure from IT security services, more than a quarter of UK businesses (28%) are not including IT among their top three priorities for the next 12 months. This is particularly worrying, as nearly all (92%) of them know their cybersecurity gaps and weaknesses, but less than half (40%) actively attempt to address them.
D. Guccione concludes: “While this cannot be corrected overnight, there are simple steps UK businesses can take to strengthen their cyber defense. First, conduct a comprehensive cybersecurity audit, examining where the gaps lie and thinking about how to fill them. Then, draw up a clear action plan to address these challenges.
Running cybersecurity training sessions to train employees and using a password management platform to secure credentials are two other simple, but very effective steps businesses can take today to better protect themselves against threats. cyber attacks of tomorrow ”.
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