Yet Use of Automation Improved Detection and Containment of
Cyberattacks by nearly 25%
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 11, 2019 /CNW/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) Security
today announced the results of a global study exploring
organizations' preparedness when it comes to withstanding and
recovering from a cyberattack. The study, conducted by the Ponemon
Institute on behalf of IBM, found that a vast majority of
organizations surveyed are still unprepared to properly respond to
cybersecurity incidents, with 77% of respondents indicating they do
not have a cybersecurity incident response plan applied
consistently across the enterprise.
While studies show that companies who can respond quickly and
efficiently to contain a cyberattack within 30 days save over
$1 million on the total cost of a
data breach on average,1 shortfalls in proper
cybersecurity incident response planning have remained consistent
over the past four years of the study. Of the organizations
surveyed that do have a plan in place, more than half (54%) do not
test their plans regularly, which can leave them less prepared to
effectively manage the complex processes and coordination that must
take place in the wake of an attack.
The difficulty cybersecurity teams are facing in implementing a
cyber security incident response plan has also impacted businesses'
compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Nearly half of respondents (46%) say their organization has yet to
realize full compliance with GDPR, even as the one-year anniversary
of the legislation quickly approaches.
"Failing to plan is a plan to fail when it comes to responding
to a cybersecurity incident. These plans need to be stress tested
regularly and need full support from the board to invest in the
necessary people, processes and technologies to sustain such a
program," said Ted Julian, Vice
President of Product Management and Co-Founder, IBM Resilient.
"When proper planning is paired with investments in automation, we
see companies able to save millions of dollars during a
breach."
Other takeaways from the study include:
- Automation in Response Still Emerging – less than
one-quarter of the respondents said their organization
significantly uses automation technologies, such as identity
management and authentication, incident response platforms and
security information and event management (SIEM) tools, in their
response process.
- Skills Still not Paying the Bills – only 30% of
respondents reported that staffing for cybersecurity is sufficient
to achieve a high level of cyber resilience.
- Privacy and Cybersecurity Tied at Hip – 62% of
respondents indicated that aligning privacy and cybersecurity roles
is essential or very important to achieving cyber resilience within
their organizations.
Automation Still Emerging
For the first time, this
year's study measured the impact of automation on cyber resilience.
In the context of this research, automation refers to enabling
security technologies that augment or replace human intervention in
the identification and containment of cyber exploits or breaches.
These technologies depend upon artificial intelligence, machine
learning, analytics and orchestration.
When asked if their organization leveraged automation, only 23%
of respondents said they were significant users, whereas 77%
reported their organizations only use automation moderately,
insignificantly or not at all. Organizations with the extensive use
of automation rate their ability to prevent (69% vs. 53%), detect
(76% vs. 53%), respond (68% vs. 53%) and contain (74% vs. 49%) a
cyberattack as higher than the overall sample of respondents.
According to the 2018 Cost of a Data Breach Study, the use of
automation is a missed opportunity to strengthen cyber resilience,
as organizations that fully deployed security automation saved
$1.5 million on the total cost of a
data breach, contrasted with organizations that did not leverage
automation and realized a much higher total cost of a data
breach.
Skills Gap Still Impacting Cyber Resilience
The
cybersecurity skills gap appears to be further undermining cyber
resilience, as organizations reported that a lack of staffing
hindered their ability to properly manage resources and needs.
Survey participants stated they lack the headcount to properly
maintain and test their incident response plans and are facing
10-20 open seats on cybersecurity teams. In fact, only 30% of
respondents reported that staffing for cybersecurity is sufficient
to achieve a high level of cyber resilience. Furthermore, 75% of
respondents rate their difficulty in hiring and retaining skilled
cybersecurity personnel as moderately high to high.
Adding to the skills challenge, nearly half of respondents (48%)
said their organization deploys too many separate security tools,
ultimately increasing operational complexity and reducing
visibility into overall security posture.
Privacy Growing as a Priority
Organizations are
finally acknowledging that collaboration between privacy and
cybersecurity teams can improve cyber resilience, with 62%
indicating that aligning these teams is essential to achieving
resilience. Most respondents believe the privacy role is becoming
increasingly important, especially with the emergence of new
regulations like GDPR and the California Consumer Privacy Act, and
are prioritizing data protection when making IT buying
decisions.
When asked what the top factor was in justifying cybersecurity
spend, 56% of respondents said information loss or theft. This
rings especially true as consumers are demanding businesses do more
to actively protect their data. According to a recent survey by
IBM, 78% of respondents say a company's ability to keep their data
private is extremely important, and only 20% completely trust
organizations they interact with to maintain the privacy of their
data.
In addition, most respondents also reported having a privacy
leader employed, with 73% stating they have a Chief Privacy
Officer, further proving that data privacy has become a top
priority in organizations.
About the Study
Conducted by the Ponemon Institute
and sponsored by IBM Resilient, "The 2019 Cyber Resilient
Organization" is the fourth annual benchmark study on Cyber
Resilience – an organization's ability to maintain its core purpose
and integrity in the face of cyberattacks. The global survey
features insight from more than 3,600 security and IT professionals
from around the world, including the
United States, Canada,
United Kingdom, France, Germany, Brazil, Australia, Middle
East and Asia Pacific.
To learn more about the full results of the study, download "The
2019 Study on the Cyber Resilient Organization."
Sign up for our upcoming webinar: "Leaders & Laggards: The
latest findings from the Ponemon Institute's study on the Cyber
Resilient Organization" which will be held April 30 from 12:00-1:00pm EST.
About IBM Security
IBM Security offers one of the most
advanced and integrated portfolios of enterprise security products
and services. The portfolio, supported by world-renowned IBM
X-Force® research, enables organizations to effectively manage risk
and defend against emerging threats. IBM operates one of the
world's broadest security research, development and delivery
organizations, monitors 70 billion security events per day in
more than 130 countries, and has been granted more than 10,000
security patents worldwide. For more information, please
check www.ibm.com/security, follow @IBMSecurity on Twitter or visit
the IBM Security Intelligence blog.
Media Contact:
Cassy Lalan
IBM Security Media Relations
319-230-2232
cllalan@us.ibm.com
1 Source: IBM/Ponemon Institute Cost of a Data Breach
Study
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