By Editor
Organizations are increasingly aware of the threat
posed by data breaches, according to Thales’ 2017 Data Threat Report.
A remarkable 88% of respondents also admitted to
feeling vulnerable to threats, with 9.1% feeling “extremely vulnerable”. This
is significantly higher than the number actually experiencing data breaches.
26% of respondents reported their organizations had
experienced a breach in the last year, a notable increase from 21.7% in 2016.
In addition to this, more than two in three
respondents (67.8%) said they have previously experienced a data breach, an increase
of almost 7% from 2016.
Garrett Bekker, principal analyst for information security at
451 Research, said: “These distressing breach rates serve as stark proof that
data on any system can be attacked and compromised.”
One encouraging result found that the number of
US-specific data breaches has started to fall.
Bekker expanded: “The good news: Only 19% of US
retail respondents reported being breached last year, significantly less than
the global average.”
Another positive finding was that 73% of
respondents, up from 58% in 2016, predicted that security spending would
increase over the next year.
With Lloyd’s of London estimating that a major cyberattack could cost the global
economy $53 billion, increased spending is advisable – if not directly
proportionate to this figure, certainly significantly heightened based on
recent security scares.
Over the past few years at least, security budgets
have been regularly reported to be on the rise, but the commitment needs careful
planning.
Bekker said: “Unfortunately, organizations keep
spending on the same security solutions that worked for them in the past, but
aren’t necessarily the most effective at stopping modern breaches.”
Firms should use their increased budgets wisely,
firstly identifying their weak points before they begin allocating
resource.