Carbon Black, a cyber security software provider, has published research on the UK cyber security market which argues that cyber criminals are spending nearly a $1 trillion dollars a year on cyber attacks whereas businesses are spending a ‘mere’ $100 billion on cyber security solutions worldwide.
Whilst the cynic in us all could argue that the ‘research’ is somewhat questionable in that a software company using stats to sell software isn’t necessarily a “new invention. However, this research needs to be listened too!
The research found the following ‘pressure points’ caused the biggest cyber vulnerabilities in the UK:
- Phishing
- Ransomware
- Weak security protocols
- Out-of-date software
- Commodified malware
- Crypto-jacking
- Supply chain attacks
The report also noted: “The news is not all bleak, though. Two thirds of UK organisations in the survey said they have pro-actively conducted threat hunting in the past year to strengthen their defences. Within companies that actively threat hunt, more than 90% said threat hunting had toughened their defences.
The stats clearly show that defenders are not keeping up with attackers’ spending,” said Tom Kellermann, Chief Cybersecurity Officer, Carbon Black. “The fact that 92% of UK companies have experienced a breach in the last year and nearly half have been breached multiple times is sobering. It’s critical to educate UK businesses on the threats they face and how these threats can be mitigated.”
The report concluded that good cyber security hygiene along with sound organisational culture working alongside a ‘trusted’ cyber security software partner, could help mitigate the wider cyber security threat.
