Cyber Pros Focusing More on AI and Machine
Learning to Thwart Attacks
DENVER, June 25,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Optiv, the cyber advisory and
solutions leader, has published its 2024 Threat and Risk Management
Report, which examines how organizations' cybersecurity investments
and governance priorities are keeping up with the evolving threat
landscape.
Based on an independent Ponemon Institute survey, the report
reveals a 59% increase in cyber budgets year-over-year.
Additionally, 63% of organizations with more than 5,000 employees
had an average of $26 million
allocated to cybersecurity investments in 2024.
The report shows a significant rise in data breaches and
security incidents, with 61% of respondents experiencing a data
breach or cybersecurity incident in the past two years, and 55% of
respondents experiencing four or more incidents in that timeframe.
These numbers highlight the urgent need for organizations to
further prioritize cybersecurity investments and strategies.
Download the full report:
https://www.optiv.com/insights/discover/downloads/2024-cybersecurity-threat-and-risk-management-report
"Cyber incidents are not slowing down, which means organizations
must work at a speed above those of the threat actors attacking
their environments. As we see security budgets increasing, many
organizations are also recognizing the need to make smart
investments in process and governance assessments to ensure
compliance," says Jason Lewkowicz,
executive vice president and chief services officer at Optiv.
"Establishing a more consistent, strategic approach to security
technology, process and people management will be essential for
organizational risk management and resilience."
Additional key findings include:
- Security Tool Overload — While organizations are
investing in more technologies, 40% of respondents believe they
have too many, hindering overall effectiveness. By contrast, only
29% feel that they have the right number of tools. This underscores
the need for a strategic approach to cybersecurity investment,
focusing on streamlining existing tools and ensuring a seamless
technology stack integration.
- Top Investment Areas — The top three areas of
investment for 2024 cybersecurity budgets are internal security
assessments (60%), identity and access management (IAM) programs
(58%) and the acquisition of additional cybersecurity tools
(51%).
- Lack of Formal Budgeting Practices — Despite
increasing budgets, only 36% of respondents have a formal approach
to determining cybersecurity budgets. This lack of formal budgeting
practices can lead to inefficiencies and missed opportunities to
address critical security gaps.
- Rising SOAR Adoption — The use of security
orchestration automation and response (SOAR) technology is
increasing, with 73% of respondents leveraging SOAR to automate
incident response activities. This automation can help security
teams respond more efficiently to threats.
Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML)
capabilities are another growing focal area for cybersecurity
organizations looking for ways to accelerate their threat
detection, prevention and process automation capabilities to keep
up with threat actors who are also using these tools.
More companies are leveraging AI in the form of use and
prevention:
- 44% of respondents use AI/ML to prevent cyberattacks
- 35% purchased use-case specific tools
- 31% use existing tools
- 34% use automated processes and audits
Optiv's report delves deeper into best practices employed by
high-performing organizations, offering valuable insights for those
seeking to strengthen their cyber defenses. It also explores
additional challenges, such as the inconsistency of cybersecurity
incident response plans (CSIRPs), navigating cyber
insurance/governance requirements and the need for improved
communication of cybersecurity risks to senior management.
"Our independent research for Optiv reveals the positive steps
organizations are taking to reduce risk, while also addressing the
challenges they face in the evolving cyber threat landscape," said
Dr. Larry Ponemon, chairman and
founder of the Ponemon Institute. "Part of the complexity
organizations continue to face in dealing with threats is due to
the number of ineffective technology tools. Recognizing this, IT
professionals and senior leadership are becoming more cognizant of
the importance in strengthening their security posture, resulting
in the increase of cybersecurity budgets and allocating funds based
on proven effectiveness in reducing security incidents."
Findings from Optiv's report are based on responses from 650 IT
and cybersecurity professionals.
For the latest news and updates from Optiv,
visit https://www.optiv.com/newsroom.
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Optiv Security: Secure
greatness.®
Optiv is the cyber advisory and solutions leader, delivering
strategic and technical expertise to nearly 6,000 companies across
every major industry. We partner with organizations to advise,
deploy and operate complete cybersecurity programs from strategy
and managed security services to risk, integration and technology
solutions. With clients at the center of our unmatched ecosystem of
people, products, partners and programs, we accelerate business
progress like no other company can. At Optiv, we manage cyber risk
so you can secure your full potential. For more information,
visit www.optiv.com.
About Ponemon Institute:
Ponemon Institute is
dedicated to independent research and education that advances
responsible information and privacy management practices within
business and government. Our mission is to conduct high
quality, empirical studies on critical issues affecting the
management and security of sensitive information about people and
organizations.
We uphold strict data confidentiality, privacy and ethical
research standards. We do not collect any personally
identifiable information from individuals (or company identifiable
information in our business research). Furthermore, we have strict
quality standards to ensure that subjects are not asked extraneous,
irrelevant or improper questions.
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SOURCE Optiv Security Inc.