More than half of organizations worldwide have fallen victim to cyberattacks in the past year, according to the latest Cybersecurity Readiness Index from Cisco. The report reveals that 53 percent of respondents experienced a cyber incident, with 73 percent anticipating a cybersecurity breach within the next 12-24 months.
Unfortunately, the level of readiness to combat these threats has decreased compared to the previous year, with only three percent of organizations possessing a mature security posture capable of defending against modern cyber threats. This represents a decrease of 12 percent from the previous year.
One of the contributing factors to this vulnerability is the prevalence of unsecure and unmanaged devices within companies. An alarming 85 percent of organizations reported that their employees access company platforms from unmanaged devices, with 43 percent spending a significant portion of their time logged onto company networks from these devices. Moreover, 29 percent of employees admit to connecting to at least six different networks within a week.
Compounding these challenges is the shortage of cybersecurity talent, with 87 percent of companies citing it as a significant issue. Nearly half of organizations revealed that they had more than ten cybersecurity-related roles unfilled at the time of the survey.
Jeetu Patel, executive vice president and general manager of security and collaboration at Cisco, emphasized the importance of prioritizing investments in integrated platforms and leveraging AI to operate at machine scale. This approach is crucial to tipping the scales in favor of defenders amidst the growing threat of cyberattacks.
Despite these challenges, companies are ramping up their cybersecurity defenses, with 52 percent planning to upgrade their IT infrastructure significantly in the next one to two years. Most organizations intend to upgrade existing solutions, deploy new technologies, and invest in AI-driven security measures.
Furthermore, 97 percent of companies plan to increase their cybersecurity budgets in the next 12 months, with 86 percent expecting a budget increase of 10 percent or more. These developments underscore the growing awareness of the cybersecurity threat landscape and the necessity of proactive measures to safeguard organizational data and assets.
