A Quarter of Global Firms Were Hit by Seven or More Cyber Attacks: Report

Trend Micro Incorporated, the leader in cloud security, published survey findings revealing 23% of global organisations suffered seven or more attacks infiltrating their networks or systems over the past year. The vast majority (83%) of surveyed organisations expect that such attacks are “somewhat” to “very” likely to be successful in the coming 12 months.

 The insights are published in the latest version of Trend Micro’s Cyber Risk Index (CRI) (www.trendmicro.com/cyberrisk) calculated by the Ponemon Institute by measuring the gap between organisations’ current security posture and their likelihood of being attacked.

“The CRI is fast becoming an indispensable resource for CISOs looking to assess their readiness to respond to cyber attacks,” said Jon Clay, director of global threat communications for Trend Micro. “This year we’ve added data from Europe and APAC to provide truly global insight. It will help organisations across the world find better ways to cut through complexity, mitigate insider threats and skills shortages, and enhance cloud security to minimise cyber risk and drive post-pandemic success.”

The CRI is based on a numerical scale of -10 to 10, with -10 representing the highest level of risk. The current global index stands at -0.41, representing “elevated” risk, although risk is highest in the US (-1.07) due to a perceived lack of cyber preparedness versus other regions.

Responding organisations claimed their top cyber-threat risks globally are:

• Phishing and social engineering
• Clickjacking
• Ransomware
• Fileless attacks
• Botnets
• Man-in-the-middle attacks

Across the globe, organisations’ key concerns are:

• The loss of customer data
• Access to IP and financial information
• Customer churn
• Stolen or damaged equipment

“Trend Micro’s CRI is a useful tool for companies to better understand their cyber risk,” said Dr. Larry Ponemon, CEO for Ponemon Institute. “Expanding this to be a global resource in 2020 opens the door for more organisations to leverage this useful information. Businesses of all sizes and industries across the globe can use the CRI to improve their protection strategy and better prepare their cybersecurity posture in the year to come.” 

There were differences between certain countries as well. In the US respondents were unique in listing the cost of outside consultants as a top negative consequence of attack, while in APAC damage to critical infrastructure concerned organisations.

 The top global security risks within IT infrastructure were highlighted as:

• Organisational misalignment and complexity
• Negligent insiders
• Cloud computing infrastructure and providers
• Shortage of qualified personnel
• Malicious insiders

 This is the third CRI study in the US and shows a significant increase in cyber risk in 2020. The complete report shows this change over time, includes the greatest security challenges for businesses around the world, and tips to minimise security risks.