Survey Shows Gap Between Perception, Reality in Midmarket Security

Arctic Wolf Networks survey provides insights into how mid-market companies think about security and what they actually do to enforce IT security.

When asked about security posture, 95 percent of respondents indicated that they believed their organizations were above average.

Looking deeper into the perceptions of mid-market companies, the Arctic Wolf Networks study asked IT professional if the perimeter security products they us can combat all cyber-security threats. The majority of respondents agreed with the statement that perimeter security works, with 43 percent agreeing strongly and 46 percent agreeing slightly.

The most commonly deployed security control in the surveyed mid-market organization is a firewall, followed by Intrusion Detection/Prevention System (IDS/IPS).

When it comes to resources, 43 percent of respondents indicated that their organizations are spending the right amount on security, with 26 percent admitting they don’t spend enough, but they still spend an adequate amount.

While the surveyed mid-market IT professional had a confident perception of security capabilities, 72 percent admitted that their roles are so broad it’s difficult for them to focus as much as is needed on IT security.

Only 23 percent of security alerts received by mid-market companies are investigated within an hour, while 13 percent of alerts are not investigated at all.

When asked about the ability to defend against zero-day exploits, 63 percent of respondents admitted that they cannot stop them.