IT managers inundated with cyberattacks

A recent Sophos survey has found that IT managers are struggling to cope with the volume and magnitude of cyberattacks.

The following key findings relate to South Africa:

• Cybercriminal tactics have evolved into using multiple attack methods and often multiple payloads to maximize profits
• Software exploits were the initial cause of 17percent of incidents and used in 23 percent of cyberattacks, demonstrating how exploits are used at multiple stages of the attack chain
• Phishing emails impacted 47 percent of those hit by a cyberattack
• Ransomware impacted 38percent of attack victims
• 39 percent of attack victims suffered a data breach
• Only 16 percent consider supply chain a top security risk, exposing an additional weak spot
• Nation state adversaries have proven how successful supply chain attacks are, which means common cybercriminals are likely to adopt the attack method
• Supply chain attacks are a launch pad to emerging automated, active-adversary attacks
• IT teams spend 27 percent of their time managing security, yet still struggle with a lack of expertise, budget and up to date technology
• 74 percent said recruiting people with the cybersecurity skills they need is challenge
• 65 percent said their organization’s cybersecurity budget is below what it needs to be
• 73 percent believe that staying up to date with cybersecurity technology is a challenge