Record level of vulnerabilities sparks cybersecurity innovation among global enterprises

Dimension Data has revealed exclusive findings from its Executive Guide to NTT Security’s 2019 Global Threat Intelligence Report concerning the cybersecurity maturity of organisations across a number of markets and sectors.

Globally, the average cybersecurity maturity rating stands at a worrying 1.45 out of 5 – a score determined by an organisation’s holistic approach to cybersecurity from a process, metrics and strategic perspective. This comes during a time when security vulnerabilities have also surged to a record high (up 12.5% from 2017).

The finance (1.71) and technology (1.66) sectors boast the highest maturity ratings and are continuing to ramp up their security posture, most likely prompted by their unenviable positions as the most commonly targeted industries, each accounting for 17% of all attacks recorded in 2018.

Scouring trillions of logs and billions of attacks, the research also revealed the most common attack types, with web attacks the most prevalent threat, doubling in frequency since 2017 and accounting for 32% of all attacks detected last year. Reconnaissance (16%) was the next most common hostile activity, closely followed by service-specific attacks (13%) and brute-force attacks (12%).

Mark Thomas, VP, Cybersecurity at Dimension Data, said: “There’s clearly work to be done across all sectors in order to establish more robust security postures. However, it’s reassuring to see many C-suite leaders recognising the importance of making more strategic investments to improve their cybersecurity defences.

“There have been some exciting developments in the predictive threat intelligence space, with new levels of collaboration and buy-in across the cybersecurity value chain. What’s more, the most-targeted industries are also the most likely to seek assistance to evolve their strategies and build their security programmes. This bodes well for companies looking to reach their desired cybermaturity state.”

Other highlights from the research include:

·         Globally, 35% of attacks originate from IP addresses within the US and China, followed by EMEA and APAC.

·         Cryptojacking represents a significant amount of hostile activity, at times accounting for more detections than all other malware combined, hitting the technology and education sectors hardest.

·         Credential theft is up as attackers target cloud credentials, with tech companies (36%), telcos (18%), and business and professional services (14%) significantly impacted by this.