Cyber crime rises putting organisations under significant stress, report reveals

A majority of organisations suffered at least one cyber attack last year, new findings have revealed.

Research conducted by cyber security firm Fortinet, has shown cyber incidents are on the rise putting businesses under significant financial and social pressures.

Almost 90 per cent of organisations experienced one or more security breach last year, with almost two-thirds taking longer than a month to recover after the incident.

Of those that have suffered an attack, just over half – 53 per cent – said it had cost them more than $1m in revenue, an increase of 15 per cent over the last two years.

Meanwhile, more than half of respondents admitted that a cyber-attack had led to directors or executives facing fines, prison time, or loss of employment or position.

Although around three quarters revealed their boards were more focused on cybersecurity in 2023 than the year before, the skills shortage was flagged as a major drawback in their fight against cyber crime.

The lack of necessary skills and training among IT staff was ranked as the top cause for breaches, followed by a lack of employee security awareness and cybersecurity products.

In addition, a majority – 70 per cent – agreed that the skills shortage created other risks for their organisations.

Findings revealed network engineers and security experts were the hardest to recruit.

However, nearly 90 per cent of respondents said they would pay for an employee to obtain a cybersecurity certification, with implementing mandatory training for IT staff ranking as the most suitable measure to enhance cybersecurity.

Findings were gathered, from online interviews and a survey, carried out by Sapio Research, of more than 1,800 IT and cybersecurity global leaders, from countries spanning from China and Australia to the UK and the US.