Malware, Phishing, Ransomware

Third of UK Cybersecurity Execs Expect to Be Hacked: Report

Ransomware, phishing attacks and data loss are the three biggest issues that concern UK cybersecurity executives.

The three biggest concerns in almost equal measures are ransomware (48 percent), phishing attacks (48 percent) and data loss (47 percent), according to cybersecurity firm Alert Logic's Threat Monitoring, Detection & Response Report, which queried 400 professionals in the U.K. on the state of cyber threats.

Only 42 percent were moderately confident in their organizations' overall security posture, underscoring a general sobering mood, heightening their level of concern over the past six months.

In fact, 32 percent of respondents responded it was more likely their organizations, and 29 percent less likely, that they would be breached within the next 12 months, whereas 22 percent didn't expect the threat to change and 17 percent weren't sure.

Detection to ward off attacks was cited by 65 percent of respondents contemplating their ability to respond to advanced threats, but 51 percent cited a lack of budget and 49 percent admitted a lack of skilled personnel as obstacles to assembling a robust defense. Another 49 percent cited a lack of security awareness as a significant barrier facing security teams.

Only 32 percent expect to get more cybersecurity budget, 9 percent will receive less and 54 percent will be funded at the same level.

When drilling down in the data regarding the 62 percent of respondents who identified as the top challenge to be detection of advanced threats (hidden, unknown and emerging), 41 percent wondered whether they were getting full visibility to all assets and vulnerabilities across the entire environment. Another 27 percent expressed a lack of confidence in automation tools being able to catch all threats, while 25 percent admitted a lack of reporting tools and 24 percent cited monitoring of cloud infrastructure.

Nearly half (49 percent) of respondents claim that use of threat-intelligence platforms had a positive impact on reducing data breaches. Almost half (47 percent) reported use of open-source threat intelligence, while 37 percent said they utilize a range of commercial vendors.

Insider threats continue to be a growing concern; 54 percent perceived a growth in these threats over the past year with inadvertent breaches (61 percent) identified as the leading cause. Better user training was identified by 57 percent of respondents as their leading method for combating such threats.

Get daily email updates

SC Media's daily must-read of the most current and pressing daily news

By clicking the Subscribe button below, you agree to SC Media Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.