Cyber security incidents continue to rise, says report

According to Clearswift research, cyber security incidents continue to rise, despite companies spotting suspicious activity quicker than two years previous.

The research found threats from an employee make up 42% of incidents, a number that has increased from 2015 when 39% of incidents occurred from inside an organisation’s network.

Extended enterprises, such as employees, customers, suppliers and ex-employees, reach 74% compared to 26% of attacks from parties unknown to the organisation.

In 2015, 33% of attacks were carried out by unknown parties, such as WannaCry, which affected more than 230,000 computers.

The research also found 29% of UK businesses now add cyber security to the boardgame agenda following high profile attacks in recent months; 65% of employers believe incidents are accidental and 40% of organisations state that they have seen the frequency of security incidents increase in the last 12 months.

Guy Bunker, SVP Products at Clearswift, said: “As GDPR approaches, every department in a business will need to recognise the potential security dangers associated with the data they use. Businesses may fall victim to the frenzy around high profile attacks and organisations may be quick to look at threats outside the business but, in reality, the danger exists closer to home. The blurring lines between personal and work-based technologies has led to an unabated rise in the insider threat.

“A reactive policy of blocking technologies may prove futile as users will inevitably find a work-around. Educating employees about how to safeguard critical information, motivating employees to care more about the ramifications of a breach, and increasing investment in Data Loss Prevention (DLP) tools are the biggest priorities needed to minimise the risk of internal security breaches.

“Being a responsible data citizen will also require organisations to look at the way in which partners or suppliers hold and share information, as breaches within the extended enterprise could also lead to heavy fines for the originating business.”

The research surveyed 600 senior business decision makers and 1,200 employees across the UK, US, Germany and Australia.

Written from press release by Leah Alger

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