Study with KPMG found just a fifth of IT decision makers at multinationals feel fully prepared to deal with cyber attack
Only a fifth of business leaders believe they are confident they are fully prepared to deal with a cyber attack, according to a report from BT and KPMG.
97 per cent of IT business leaders at multinational corporations told the report they had experienced some kind of cyber attack, but just 22 per cent felt they could combat security breaches perpetrated by organised crime.
The report – Taking the Offensive- Working Together to Disrupt Digital Crime – found 94 per cent of IT decision makers were aware of criminal entrepreneurs are blackmailing and bribing employees to gain access to organisations. Despite this, 47 per cent said they did not have a strategy in place to prevent this.
91 per cent claimed they faced obstacles in dealing with cyber attacks, with many blaming regulatory obstacles, while 44 per cent were concerned about the dependence on third parties for aspects of their response.
The report comes less than a year after one of BT’s telecoms rivals, TalkTalk, was the victim of a cyber attack that cost it around £40 million in lost revenue, and more than 101,000 customers.
BT CEO of security Mark Hughes said: “The industry is now in an arms race with professional criminal gangs and state entities with sophisticated tradecraft. The twenty-first century cyber criminal is a ruthless and efficient entrepreneur, supported by a highly developed and rapidly evolving black market.”
“With cyber-crime continuing to escalate, a new approach to digital risk is needed – and that means putting yourself in the shoes of attackers. Businesses need to not only defend against cyber-attacks, but also disrupt the criminal organisations that launch those attacks.They should certainly work closer with law enforcement as well as partners in the cyber security marketplace.”
For a full breakdown of the security market, check out issue 618 of Mobile News, which is out on July 11.
