We recently commissioned the largest global survey into secure digital communications and workplace productivity, speaking with over 6,000 employees and 850 IT decision makers in Europe and the US. Our report, Freedom to Focus: securely empowered employees, protected businesses, investigates the state of cybersecurity in wake of hybrid working and escalating digital transformation.
Haven’t downloaded the report yet? Here’s a brief insight into our findings.
There’s huge value in giving employees the freedom to focus and take calculated risks. However, as IT leaders know all too well, that freedom can’t come at the expense of security and governance.
To tread the line between freedom and risk effectively, it’s helpful for IT leaders to understand the communication risk landscape today.
Where do key data security challenges lie?
- 46% say external security threats
- 38% say proliferation of data sharing or collaboration tools
- 37% say a lack of understanding about digital security
- 37% say keeping up with data security technologies
Upping the focus on outbound
IT leaders understandably place a great deal of focus on the threat of malware and phishing. But ‘data loss through employee email errors’ is almost as big a concern (43%), indicating that IT leaders need to think as much about outbound security failures as they do about external threats.
Trying to stay proactively progressive
Despite the constantly evolving nature of risk – and the growing problem of email errors or threats – many IT teams aren’t regularly reviewing data security. Only 18% of IT leaders have their approach to risk and email security under constant review. Almost a third of IT teams (32%) last reviewed their approach to risk and email security two years ago or more. Given how much and how fast the world of work has changed, a more proactive approach is vital.
When organizations last reviewed their approach to risk and email security:
- 28% say about a year ago
- 25% say about two years ago
- 22% say within the last 6 months
- 18% say their security approach is under constant review
- 7% say more than two years ago
The story in brief
IT leaders face a range of evolving security risks, but external threats aren’t the only problem. Data loss through employee email errors is almost as big a concern as malware and phishing. However, most IT leaders aren’t keeping their security under constant review, putting them at risk in a fast-moving threat landscape.
Download the free report to find out and hear from cybersecurity experts including:
- Steve Bond, Information Rights Manager, Open University
- Martin Viech, Freelance Writer, Analyst and Contributing Editor at IDG Connect
- Shira Rubinoff, Cybersecurity Executive, Advisor and Author
