- Four in five (82%) businesses remain concerned about the
security risks of employees working remotely, despite many
exploring potential hybrid working models
- Nearly half (47%) report an increase in the volume, severity,
and/or scope of cyber-attacks in the last 12 months
- Of those who have ever experienced a breach, 41% had it happen
in the last year, almost double the number (21%) compared to
2019
- Retailers are most at risk, with 61% experiencing a breach or
failed an audit in 2020, raising concern for suppliers and
consumers alike
Despite being over a year into remote working and looking
ahead to likely shifts to hybrid remote/in-office working models,
four fifths (82%) of businesses still remain concerned about the
security risks of employees working remotely.
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This is just one of the key insights from the 2021 Thales Global
Data Threat Report, a commissioned study conducted by 451 Research,
part of S&P Global Market Intelligence, which reveals that
managing security risks is undoubtedly getting more challenging,
with nearly half (47%) of businesses seeing an increase in the
volume, severity, and/or scope of cyber-attacks in the past 12
months.
Attacks On The Rise
In fact, of those who have ever experienced a breach, two in
five (41%) happened in the last year. This number has nearly
doubled from 21% in 2019, marking a significant shift in the threat
posed.
Globally, malware (54%) is the leading source of security
attacks, followed by ransomware (48%), and phishing (41%). Yet,
when it comes to how attacks occur, the message is clear: internal
threats and human error are still of great concern to industry. A
third of businesses stated that malicious insiders (35%) and human
error (31%) are the greatest risks to them, followed by external
attackers (22%).
Despite the increased risk remote working has posed to
enterprises throughout the pandemic, nearly half (46%) of
businesses report that their security infrastructure was not
prepared to handle the risks caused by Covid-19. In fact, only one
in five (20%) of organisations believe it was very prepared.
Multiple Industries at Risk
This lack of protection is affecting some industries more than
others it seems, with just under two thirds (61%) of retailers
surveyed experiencing a breach or failing an audit involving data
and applications stored in the cloud in the past year – the most of
any industry surveyed. Over half of organisations in the legal
(57%), call centre (55%), transportation (54%), and
telecommunications (52%) sectors also suffered the same fate in the
last 12 months.
Multicloud Complexity Increases Risks
As increases in attacks continue, businesses are turning to the
cloud to store their data in this digital-first world. Half (50%)
of businesses report that more than 40% of their data is stored in
external cloud environments. Despite this, only 17% of businesses
have encrypted at least half of their sensitive data stored in the
cloud. On top of this, complexity is an increasing issue, with many
respondents now using at least two PaaS (Platform as a Service)
providers (45%) and/or two IaaS providers (Infrastructure as a
Service). A quarter (27%) of businesses are currently using more
than 50 SaaS (Software as a Service) apps.
Sebastien Cano, Senior Vice President for Cloud Protection
and Licensing activities at Thales comments: “Teams across the
globe have faced huge security challenges over the last year as
companies accelerated their digital transformation and cloud
adoption initiatives. When migrating to multicloud solutions, data
management can quickly spiral out of control. Organisations not
only risk losing track of where their data is stored across
multicloud environments but also fail to protect sensitive data in
the cloud. With once unprecedented amounts of data now being used
and stored in the cloud, it is vital that businesses deploy a
robust security strategy based on data discovery, protection and
control.”
Future Challenges and the Road Ahead
Companies are recognising the issues they are facing and are
attempting to address them with Zero Trust strategies. More than
three quarters (76%) of respondents’ cloud strategy reportedly rely
to some degree on Zero Trust security. Almost half (44%) of
respondents selected Zero Trust network access
(ZTNA)/software-defined perimeter (SDP) as the leading technology
to invest in during the pandemic. This was followed by cloud-based
access management (42%) and conditional access (41%). In fact, a
third (30%) of global respondents claim to have a formal Zero Trust
strategy and, interestingly, those with a formal Zero Trust
strategy are less likely to also report having been breached.
However, despite businesses making moves to stop current
threats, worries are growing about future challenges on the
horizon. Looking ahead, 85% of global respondents are concerned
about the security threats of quantum computing, a threat arguably
exacerbated by the increasing complexity of cloud environments.
Eric Hanselman, Chief Analyst at 451 Research, part of
S&P Global Market Intelligence added: “The native controls
and protections available in cloud environments address a set of
necessary capabilities, but they’re often insufficient to deliver
effective protections for sensitive data and workloads, especially
when it comes to compliance with regulations such as GDPR and the
implications of the Schrems II ruling. Organisations need to
increase their use of encryption and ensure they take full
advantage of encryption’s benefits by controlling the secrets that
protect their data through BYOK (Bring Your Own Key), HYOK (Hold
Your Own Key) or BYOE (Bring Your Own Encryption) approaches.
Organisations also need to make internal changes to ensure that
personnel at all levels understand the security challenges and to
properly align investment priorities. Senior executives need to
obtain a more complete understanding of the levels of risk and
attack activity that their front-line staff are experiencing.”
Thales and 451 Research will discuss the findings in more detail
during its upcoming Crypto Summit on 16 June 2021. To join, please
visit the registration page.
About the 2021 Thales Global Data Threat Report
The 2021 Thales Global Data Threat Report was based on a global
451 Research survey commissioned by Thales of more than 2,600
executives with responsibility for or influence over IT and data
security. Respondents were from 16 countries: Australia, Brazil,
France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New
Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates,
the United Kingdom, and the United States. Organisations
represented a range of industries, with a primary emphasis on
healthcare, financial services, retail, technology, and federal
government. Job titles ranged from C-level executives including
CEO, CFO, Chief Data Officer, CISO, Chief Data Scientist, and Chief
Risk Officer, to SVP/VP, IT Administrator, Security Analyst,
Security Engineer, and Systems Administrator. Respondents
represented a broad range of organizational sizes, with the
majority ranging from 500 to 10,000 employees. The survey was
conducted in January - February 2021.
About Thales
Thales (Euronext Paris: HO) is a global leader in advanced
technologies, investing in digital and “deep tech” innovations –
connectivity, big data, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and
quantum computing – to build a confident future crucial for the
development of our societies. The Group provides its customers –
businesses, organisations and governments – in the defense,
aeronautics, space, transport, and digital identity and security
domains with solutions, services and products that help them fulfil
their critical role, consideration for the individual being the
driving force behind all decisions.
Thales has 81,000 employees in 68 countries. In 2020 the Group
generated sales of €17 billion.
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PRESS CONTACT
Thales, Media Relations Security Constance Arnoux
+33 (0)6 44 12 16 35 constance.arnoux@thalesgroup.com
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