An extensive study by security experts has found that most organizations predict that email fraud (phishing) will be the top risk for the next six months.
See also: Which personality traits make us more vulnerable to phishing
This week, global cybersecurity software and services company Fortra released the findings of its first-ever State of Cybersecurity survey, compiled after consulting with over 400 professionals from 40 different industries around the world.
See also: Fake antivirus programs used in phishing attacks
In terms of the top immediate risk, most organizations identified phishing (81%), followed by malware and ransomware (76%) and accidental data loss (63%) as areas to watch out for. Social engineering (55%) and third-party threats (52%) also ranked high.
Security professionals were also asked what their priorities would be for combating the threat of the above factors, with the following measures.
Preventing or mitigating external threats, such as phishing and malware (74%), identifying and closing security gaps (73%), improving security awareness (66%), cloud security (63%) and compliance (62%).
Antonio Sanchez, Chief Cybersecurity Evangelist at Fortra, responded to the findings, stating: “While these may seem like unrelated concerns, they can all be traced to the unbridled rush to the cloud.”.
The consequences of this rapid migration – weak policies, poor container security, misconfigurations and open security holes – came to light in 2023, and the consequences will continue to evolve this year.
"Now, the top focus is on improving controls and processes around phishing and malware followed by identifying the latest attack vectors for hardening," Sanchez added.
See also: ELTA: Phishing scam targets iOS users
Impact of lack of sufficient expertise and budgetary pressures
The study also looked at what is holding back further security strategies with budget constraints (54%), the ever-changing nature of threats (45%) and a lack of security skills (45%) topping the rankings.
The survey also revealed that many are willing to implement zero trust principles, but about 25% said they cannot implement these plans due to a lack of resources.
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On this topic, Josh Davies, chief technical officer at Fortra, commented: “Burnout is a trend that causes skilled personnel to leave organizations or move into roles with more focused responsibilities.”
"This creates additional stress on the remaining staff as they have to deliver the required results with fewer staff.".
Information source: readwrite.com
