IT Professionals Step Up Security Protection
IT Professionals Step Up Security Protection
In a new survey, a little more than seven in 10 IT pros expect their firms to be more secure in 2016. Their biggest concerns are malware and ransomware.
Biggest Security Concerns
54% are very or extremely concerned about malware in 2016, followed by ransomware (53%), phishing (46%), data leaks/thefts (39%), spyware (38%) and password breaches (37%).
Actual Threats
51% said their organizations experienced a malware attack in 2015, followed by phishing (38%), spyware (34%), ransomware (20%) and password breaches (12%). Only 18% experienced no threats or attacks.
Vulnerable Devices
81% pointed to laptops as the devices with a moderate or high risk of breach, followed by desktops (73%), smartphones (70%), servers/server rooms (49%), IoT devices (49%), wireless access points (47%), tablets (42%), and routers/switches (38%).
In the Shadows
48% of respondents believe that shadow IT poses a security threat to the organization.
Who’s the Biggest Threat?
49% believe independent hackers were the biggest threat in 2015, followed by rogue employees (36%), organized crime (25%), cyber-terrorists (12%) and hacktivists (10%).
Threat Protection
76% said they update hardware/software to protect against threats, enforce end-user policies (73%), educate end users (72%), restrict or manage access to corporate resources (69%), learn about new risks/threats (66%), monitor network activity/identify patterns (61%), evaluate new/additional solutions (60%) and restrict BYOD (52%).
Policies Count
86% of respondents have an end-user initiative in place, and 68% have a formal IT security policy.
Top Security Challenges
69% said limited end-user knowledge regarding risk/security is one of their biggest security challenges, followed by end-user resistance (57%), lack of time/resources to secure networks (54%), inadequate budget for security solutions (46%), limited knowledge about potential threats (35%) and lack of support from management for security initiatives (32%).
Making Investments
84% of respondents expect security investments to increase in at least one area, with 71% expecting their organizations to be more secure in 2016.
Taking Responsibility
87% said they are most responsible for keeping organizations safe, but noted that everyone, including individual employees (43%) and high-level executives (41%), has a role to play.