Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Cybersecurity
    • Cybersecurity

    IT Professionals’ Confidence in Cyber-Security Falls, Survey Finds

    By
    Robert Lemos
    -
    December 6, 2016
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin
      Cyber-Security Confidence Falls

      Cyber-security professionals have become more skeptical of the security of their companies computer systems and data due to a lack of confidence in their ability to secure the cloud and the “overwhelming cyber-threat environment,” according to a study published by network security company Tenable on Dec. 5.

      The study, the 2017 Global Cybersecurity Assurance Report Card, is a survey of 700 cyber-security operations professionals, which found that workers had the least confidence in their ability to assess the risks to cloud infrastructure and Web applications. The overall score for risk assessment fell to 61 percent, down from 73 percent in the previous year’s study.

      There was no improvement in any of the 11 risk assessment scores that measured security professionals’ confidence in their ability to detect threats, Cris Thomas, strategist for Tenable Network Security, told eWEEK.

      “I hoped we would see things improve a bit, but that did not happen,” he said. “Almost all the scores across the board—the grades—went down, and I was very surprised to see that this year.”

      Tenable’s Global Cybersecurity Assurance Report Card, now in its second year, is based on a survey of attitudes and beliefs of cyber-security professionals. The risk assessment component is a single question asking security workers to rate on a 5-point scale their companies “ability to assess risk” in 11 different areas, including cloud environments, containerization platforms, virtual data centers, desktop computers, mobile devices and web applications.

      A second score, the security assurance score, is made of a similar ranking of six broad questions, such as whether the company has the tools to accurately measure the benefit of security investments or the ability to aggregate and analyze real-time intelligence. Security workers’ confidence in their company’s continued commitment to investing in security remained the same year-to-year, at 79 percent.

      The worst area for cyber-security was the landscape of threats, but low security awareness of employees and a lack of visibility into the state of their networks and devices also left professionals unsure.

      Yet, security workers seem hopeful that technology or training will make cyber-security more achievable in the future. Nearly two-thirds of the professionals surveyed were more optimistic about their organization’s ability to defend against a cyber-attack. Less than 10 percent were more pessimistic.

      “As a defender that is important,” Thomas said. “If we had bad grades and we were pessimistic, that would be really bad.”

      Professionals in nine countries were surveyed as part of the study. Companies in India, the United States and Canada had the best overall scores while Japan and Germany were at the bottom of the list of countries.

      Surprisingly, the retail industry scored the best on the combination of the two scores, with a 76 percent, while the government and education sectors had the worst average, with a 63 percent and 64 percent, respectively.

      The biggest drop in risk assessment confidence happened with regards to web applications. Last year, security professionals scored an 80 percent in their ability to detect risks to web applications, but this year, the score dropped to 62 percent.

      Robert Lemos
      Robert Lemos is an award-winning freelance journalist who has covered information security, cybercrime and technology's impact on society for almost two decades. A former research engineer, he's written for Ars Technica, CNET, eWEEK, MIT Technology Review, Threatpost and ZDNet. He won the prestigious Sigma Delta Chi award from the Society of Professional Journalists in 2003 for his coverage of the Blaster worm and its impact, and the SANS Institute's Top Cybersecurity Journalists in 2010 and 2014.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Big Data and Analytics

      Alteryx’s Suresh Vittal on the Democratization of...

      James Maguire - May 31, 2022 0
      I spoke with Suresh Vittal, Chief Product Officer at Alteryx, about the industry mega-shift toward making data analytics tools accessible to a company’s complete...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×