Intelligent CIO Africa Issue 35 | Page 17

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// TRENDING THE REALITY OF THE CYBERSECURITY LANDSCAPE IN AFRICA According to The World Wide Worx’s State of Enterprise Security in South Africa 2019 report, 99% of IT departments feel confident that they can protect the company and yet 45% say they don’t have the skills they need to cement this confidence. T here is a misplaced confidence in existing cybersecurity solutions and the beleaguered IT department that is leaving corporate doors wide open for attack. The report found that 43% don’t think they would detect a breach within the first few minutes, meaning there is a disconnect between the reality of the security systems in place and the overconfidence of the enterprise. “The security landscape across the African continent is a complex mix of overconfident belief in the ubiquity and capability of the IT department and the complete lack of security skills and employee www.intelligentcio.com awareness,” said Karien Bornheim, CEO of FABS. “Cybersecurity isn’t embedded into the culture of the organisation nor is it addressing the biggest vulnerabilities in the systems – outdated software, poor employee training, and third-party vulnerabilities.” The survey found that a staggering 77% of IT decision-makers were concerned with the risks inherent in outdated software systems. That’s a huge slice of the corporate pie left wide open for attacks that could cripple the business and its reputation. The Ponemon Institute found that the lost assets and expenses experienced by “ CYBERSECURITY ISN’T EMBEDDED INTO THE CULTURE OF THE ORGANISATION NOR IS IT ADDRESSING THE BIGGEST VULNERABILITIES IN THE SYSTEMS. INTELLIGENTCIO 17