While cybersecurity has progressed in major ways over the past couple of decades, the past few months have witnessed an incredible upheaval—one that has dramatically changed day-to-day life.
The COVID-19 outbreak has caused a massive shift in work/life balance and has disrupted priorities for organizations worldwide. With many enterprises struggling to remain in business, IT teams have had to quickly adapt to this new norm, often with less resources at their disposal.
In the midst of such unique and uncertain times, Cyber Security Hub has provided an in-depth look at the first half of the year by releasing a survey composed of qualified respondents from relevant industries. The results paint a picture of a world attempting to adapt to a rapidly evolving threat landscape.
For a live discussion on prominent topics and the overall state of the industry, check out the upcoming Cyber Security Hub Mid-Year Report Interactive Discussion. Read on to find out a few of the main topics and key highlights they'll be covering in detail.
The 2020 Cyber Security Mid-Year Snapshot: Practitioner Insight
When asked if their approach to security has changed due to the result of a global pandemic, 40% of respondents said they haven’t. This is a concerning figure, as the workforce has moved to working from remote locations in unprecedented numbers. Here just a few ways that cybersecurity has changed over the past few months:
- Network infrastructure
- Endpoints
- Access Management
- Collaboration tools
- The concept of insider threat
- Enterprise cloud infrastructure- no matter where you were in your cloud migration
- Data in transit
- Myriad threat vectors
- Vulnerability management
- Cybercriminal attacks
For the 40% of respondents who aren't changing their tactics and devoting resources to this new work-from-home dynamic, they are putting their organization at much greater risk than before.
Bad Actors Are Not Letting Up
Did anyone really think that hackers were going to ease up when COVID-19 hit simply out of the goodness of their hearts? If so, their hopes were quickly dashed. The uncertainty and fear that has gripped many organizations around the globe has lead to industry analysts believing the problem will only be getting worse.
In 2019, 74% of respondents believed hacker sophistication would grow in the first half of 2020. That number has already risen to 77% and is likely to increase.
Budgets Are Down
The global pandemic has caused many organization to make broad cuts across their entire business. Unfortunately, with cyberattacks continuing to grow, it's an unfortunate time for that to happen.
Within the next six months, only 38% of organizations are planning on increasing their budget. This is a sizable drop from 57% from six months earlier. If the trend continues, this could further erode the security of businesses and organizations around the globe, allowing bad actors to take advantage of their misfortune.
Discover Even Greater Insight With Our Upcoming Webinar
Looking for topical discussion, key takeaways, and greater expert insight? Sponsored by Arctic Wolf, the 2020 Cyber Security Mid-Year Snapshot webinar will feature board members and partners engaging in conversation over the state of cyber security over the first half of the year, as well as where the landscape may be headed.
In addition, check out the Practitioner Report On Cyber Security Challenges, Focuses And Spend to gain greater insight on budget allocation, current areas of focus, most dangerous threat vectors, how organizations are trying to win the war against lack of skilled workers, major pain points, upcoming priorities, legislation, and more.