INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Enterprise Security

The research , based on insights from information security and IT professionals across 250 UK companies , revealed that only a quarter of businesses currently employ a CISO ( Chief Information Security Officer ) but a further 56 % are planning to hire one within the next six to 24 months .

As part of this research , Fastly also identified the top five security issues that are going to be most costly for UK businesses over the next five years :

1 . Malware-based attacks ( 31 %) 2 . Denial-of-Service attacks ( 26 %) 3 . Attacks targeting known vulnerabilities ( 25 %) 4 . Attacks targeting unknown vulnerabilities ( 24 %) 5 . Attacks exploiting the misconfiguration of an associated cloud service ( 24 %)

These dedicated leaders will help companies to understand and head-off potential threats as efficiently and effectively as possible .

The research also found that certain sectors are ahead of the curve , with 75 % of businesses in the construction / engineering sector already having a CISO in place , closely followed by local / national government ( 60 %) and aerospace ( 50 %).

The increased presence of CISOs across UK businesses demonstrates a rising interest in the importance of having strong security solutions in place across businesses .

Though the core role of the CISO should be to counteract these potential threats and more , UK businesses believe there is more investment needed to protect themselves over the next five years , with a particular focus on arming themselves against attacks on cloud services ( 30 %), COVID-19 phishing schemes ( 26 %) and use of Multi- Factor Authentication .

In addition to the rise in CISOs , one in five businesses also want to invest in further cybersecurity professionals ( 21 %) and to address the impact of remote working on company and employee security moving forward ( 18 %).

Despite it being a relatively new role , Fastly ’ s research shows the CISO parameters are still unclear to many , with almost a third ( 31 %) believing that CISOs should have an in-depth understanding of all areas of IT .

In terms of future-proofing business technology , many are also concerned by the rise of AI ( 17 %), data privacy ( 18 %) and insider threats ( 16 %). p

Furthermore , they often come under fire as the ‘ scapegoat ’ in difficult situations , with one in four claiming CISOs are too often blamed for things which are not their fault . However , perceptions of this differ greatly across sectors , with over 50 % of businesses in the government sector , construction / engineering and aerospace believing CISOs are often blamed for things that aren ’ t their fault , compared with just 18 % in the technology and finance sectors .

Though UK businesses have identified the need for this lead role in security , in order for it to be a significant step in future-proofing their technology , the job specification needs to be clear in order to be effective .

Fastly ’ s research also shows the role of the CISO is viewed very differently , with 23 % believing that CISOs are stretched too thinly , 22 % believing that they are overworked and underpaid and 19 % even believing that they are not good enough value for money .

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