The State of Cybersecurity in 2018

October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, which means now is a great time to take stock of your organization’s cybersecurity and IT risk management practices.

Is your business prepared for rising cyber threats?

Many aren’t, according to recent research:

Organizations are concerned about and unprepared for cybersecurity risks.

A 2018 cyber and data security survey of more than 1,100 executives at North American organizations revealed a number of risk management challenges.

• Nearly 60% of executives rank cybersecurity as one of their organization’s top five risks.
• Over 75% of executives reported that their organizations either had no method to measure cyber risk (49%) or they didn’t know if their organization measured risk exposure (27%).
• Only 18% have a cybersecurity incident response plan.
• The cyber loss scenarios respondents were most concerned about include business interruptions, customer information breaches, data or software damage, and reputational damage.

The survey concluded that, despite recognizing cybersecurity as a high-impact risk, few organizations have acted on their concern. That in itself is a risky proposition in today’s connected, technology-driven business landscape.

Paired with other recent statistics like the increasing frequency of security breaches and the rising costs of cybercrime and recovery, these figures paint a grim picture of the typical organization’s preparedness in the areas of cybersecurity and IT risk management.

Did you know?

Organizations worldwide averaged 130 security breaches a year, up nearly 30% from 2016 to 2017. Spending on cybercrime incidents and recovery averaged $11.7 million per organization, up nearly 23% from 2016. Average costs escalate to more than $17 million for businesses in the financial services and energy / utilities industries.

They also show that a strong risk management program is essential for protecting your organization’s processes, resources, and reputation.

Subscribe to our blog using the form at the top of this page 

You won’t want to miss the next installment in our cybersecurity series, where we’ll look at some best practices that businesses can follow to secure their future against cyber threats and IT risks.