The COVID pandemic affected many things across the country, but the impact it had on the IT world was catastrophic–particularly when it comes to cybersecurity. Employees working from home opened many businesses up to cyberattacks since many used unsecure networks to keep business operations moving. At the same time, it gave many cybercriminals the time they needed to craft the sophistication in their attacks. As a result, many businesses rushed to fill the cracks in their security. Just to fulfill their immediate need, but now is the time to figure out real long-term solutions.
Cybersecurity Solutions for Today
ThoughtLab recently announced the findings of its 2022 cybersecurity benchmarking study, Cybersecurity Solutions for a Riskier World. The study study analyzed the cybersecurity strategies and results of 1,200 large organizations across 14 different sectors and 16 countries, representing $125.2 billion of annual cybersecurity spending. From the study:
“The research revealed that the pandemic has brought cybersecurity to a critical inflection point. The number of material breaches respondents suffered rose 20.5% from 2020 to 2021, and cybersecurity budgets as a percentage of firms’ total revenue jumped 51%, from 0.53% to 0.80%. During that time, cybersecurity became a strategic business imperative, requiring CEOs and their management teams to work together to meet the higher expectations of regulators, shareholders, and the board. In addition, the role of the chief information security officer (CISO) expanded, with many taking on responsibility for data security (49%), customer and insider fraud (44%), supply chain management (34%), enterprise and geopolitical risk management (30%), and digital transformation and business strategy (29%).”
As part of ThoughtLab’s evidence-based research, its economists assessed the cybersecurity performance of corporate and government organizations against 26 metrics, including times to detect, respond to, and mitigate a cybersecurity breach, as well as the number of material breaches suffered. The benchmarking study revealed 10 best practices that can reduce the probability of a material breach and the time it takes to find and respond to those that happen. Click below to read more!
