The survey – ‘The 2020 threat landscape – how prepared are you?’ – also reveals that 44% of organisations have experienced a cyber-attack over the last year, and another 11% either didn’t know, or were unsure, whether they had been targeted.
With the huge surge of remote workers, IT teams are under severe pressure to make sure their systems are safe from attack, explains WatchGuard Technologies.
The survey further highlights what UK businesses think are the major cyber threats to their business and investigates if they have the necessary solutions, skills and support in place to protect against cyber-attacks. Phishing attacks are regarded as the greatest cyber threat to businesses, followed by authentication attacks and stolen credentials. When it comes to facing up to these challenges, security professionals say that time and budget constraints pose the biggest impact on how they can protect their businesses.
Jon-Marc Wilkinson, sales director for UK & Ireland at WatchGuard Technologies, says: “The current uncertain and challenging economic and geopolitical climate combined with the massive disruption to traditional working practices means cyber criminals are finding new and more inventive ways to attack both businesses and individuals when they are at their most vulnerable.
“If a business has not experienced a cyber-attack in the last 12 months, this survey indicates that the majority of respondents are expecting cyber security threats to increase over the next year. More than ever, companies of all sizes need enterprise-grade network and endpoint security that is simple to deploy and manage but is also affordable.”