Nearly Half European Businesses Lack Robust Cyber Defence – Study

A European study carried out by security specialists Kaspersky Lab has revealed more depressing cyber security developments.

The study of IT decision makers across six countries, (Germany, UK, France, Italy, Spain, and Romania) found that almost one in ten (9 percent) organisations say their IT security budget is falling year over year.

This comes despite the rising cyber threat, as demonstrated when large Norwegian manufacturing firm Norsk Hydro admitted this week it had lost more than $40m, in the week following a devastating ransomware attack.

Cyber defences

The latest survey from Kaspersky Lab revealed other alarming data.

This included the fact that while 83 percent of IT decision makers agree they do take precautions to help prevent cyberattacks, only 41 percent provide security training to all employees.

This is despite the fact that the majority of cyberthreats often stem from company insiders such as members of staff.

And more concerning is the fact that only 53 percent believe their organisation has robust security policies in place, despite the wave of online threats today.

Meanwhile one-in-two IT decision makers (51 percent) would find it difficult to estimate total losses after a cyberattack, as they realise that the impact is widespread and includes reputational loss.

The study also found that 79 percent would like to know who was behind any breach of their cyber defences, but 68 percent also feel that it is very rare that cyber-attackers are caught and brought to justice.

Vital awareness

“Awareness regarding cyberthreats is a very basic step for organisations, as a key foundation for staying protected from cyberthreats,” explained David Emm, principal security researcher at Kaspersky Lab.

“Our research has found that European organisations acknowledge cyber risks, but it is concerning that only one-in-10 European organisations still do not take any effective preventative measures against cyberattacks, possibly hoping that ‘maybe it won’t happen to us.’”

“However, it has been proven time and time again, preventative measures and proper defence are far more affordable than the impact of a disastrous attack that can even mean the end of a business,” said Emm. “Although when a cyberattack occurs businesses would like to know who’s behind it. Unfortunately attribution is fraught with difficulties, so it’s therefore much more productive to invest in measures to reduce the risk of attack and mitigate any attack that does occur.”

Last year Webroot warned that legacy security solutions were being seamlessly bypassed by the new generation of malware and other online cyber nastiness.

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