Who is winning the battle in terms of cybersecurity and cyber-attacks? According to a new report looking into the concerns and attitudes of business leaders it the hackers. This is a key message stemming from the RSM Cyber Study, which is titled “Catch 22: Digital Transformation and its impact on cybersecurity.”
The study has polled executives from across Europe, taking in 600 companies. This poll reveals that 61 percent of business leaders at board level are of the opinion that hackers are more sophisticated and tech-savvy than the software developers. This is reflected in the fact that 60 percent of executives are of the view that they have breached without knowing. To add to this, 73 percent of business leaders consider themselves at risk from cybercrime. Concerningly, just 31 percent think the security strategy of their company will protect them from a future cyberattack.
That’s if there is a cybersecurity strategy in place at all. The survey discovered that 21 percent of businesses do not have any cybersecurity plan in place.
Commenting on these key findings, Gregor Strobl, who is Head of Technology and Cyber Risk Assurance at RSM Germany, states: “When it comes to cybersecurity, the lack of confidence from businesses is understandable because the reality today is that the threats are greater than protection, the hacker is always two steps ahead.”
While the situation, at one level looks bleak with an increased number of seemingly more sophisticated cyberattacks occurring, this does not mean that inertia is an option. Strobl continues: “Doing nothing is not an option. It is very worrying that one in five European businesses have no co-ordinated way of tackling cybercrime. Investing in controls to prevent, detect, contain and build reliance can be the difference between a controlled response with little impact, or a public scandal with significant financial loss.“
This means putting cybersecurity at the top of the agenda. The report found that security issues are either only rarely or just occasionally discussed at board level in 54 percent of companies. The poll also found that only a low number of respondents saw cybersecurity as a collective board responsibility, with many saying that responsibility sits with the CEO or Head of IT. According to Strobl, this needs to change otherwise digital transformation projects will face an additional risk from cyber-threats.
