4 in 10 firms admit to a cybersecurity capability gap - can this be salvaged?
- Lizzie Black
- October 9, 2021
The widespread move to home working and increased use of digital solutions has seen a surge in the demand for cybersecurity.
According to Allianz, cyber security ranks as one of the top 3 major threats for all business sizes, and the recent Raconteur report shares deeper insights into what is causing this and how companies can act.
Zoho Europe’s Managing Director Sridhar Iyengar comments that there is ‘no such thing as 100% safe in the digital world’. While this may be the case, there is no reason why businesses cannot take action to prevent worse scenarios from occurring. It is becoming more common that they must adapt to the ever-changing world of remote working by incorporating higher digital adoption, which at times can result in more exposure and increased vulnerabilities, particularly if cheaper alternatives are used.
Companies acknowledge the changing world of work, where gaps need to be filled, with 4 in 10 companies surveyed by Ionos admitting they had a cybersecurity skills gap. The top 3 were cloud computing security (39%), security analyses and integrations (30%) and application security (30%).
Based on the Keeper Security 2021 Report, 92% of UK business have suffered an attack in the past 12 months, which isn’t helped by employees failing to create secure passwords: 80% of data breaches are often the result of weak password security issues and by reusing them.
The costs soon mount up where there is a lack of digital and cybersecurity software, with nearly 1 in 10 of UK businesses facing a financial impact of over £1million as a result of cyberattacks.
Not taking action to prevent cyberattacks could see companies also face further costs through breaching the UK Data Protection Act or European Union General Data Protection Regulation, facing fines of up to £17.5million or 4% of annual global turnover.
A hefty economic cost on top of… another hefty economic cost.
Dr Tim Stevens, senior lecturer in global security at King’s London revealed the intensification of cyber-attacks in developed economies, mainly due to companies implementing digital transformations by not choosing the correct type, or a low-cost alternative with adequate features, eventually costing more to fix loose ends in the long run! This creates loopholes for hackers, contributing to the vicious cycle of a ‘lazy narrative’ of paying and funding their activity, with the risk of being hit by a second attack: as many as 84% have experienced this, despite paying a first ransom.
Digital procurement and cyber security
ProcureTech’s own analysis of over 4,000 digital procurement solutions using data from SecurityScorecard has highlighted specific areas of procurement that expose the enterprise to undue risk. Interestingly, younger digital procurement solutions expose companies to less cyber security risk too.
Even though no company can be 100% safe in the digital world, there are many ways for them to protect themselves with cybersecurity tools. Digital technology is the way forward. Companies and their procurement leaders need to ensure they are kept up to date to avoid any ransomware attacks, by investing in strong, efficient tools in the first place to prove their worth in the long run.
Does your organization face cybersecurity gaps? Which digital technologies have you or are looking to implement?
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