Intelligent CIO Africa Issue 64 | Page 60

INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Enterprise Security

Only a third of CIOs cite cyber-risk mitigation as a performance measure

While 94 % of CIOs acknowledge some form of serious threat over the next 12 months , only 27 % list Business Continuity and resilience as a top-three priority during the next 12 months and barely a third cite risk mitigation as a measure of performance . These findings come from the fourth and concluding section of the 2021 Global CIO Survey from Logicalis , a global provider of IT solutions .

The study which surveyed 1,000 CIOs from around the world , found that nearly half of respondents ( 47 %) see data breaches as the biggest risk to their organisation ( an increase of 6 % from last year ). Following data breaches , CIOs state malware and ransomware ( 39 %) as other key areas of concern .
The perceived risk of a data breach is likely to have risen due to the increase in borderless workforces as employees continue to work from home or adopt hybrid working practices . When they occur , data breaches can lead to a range of issues from loss of business-critical data and stalled business growth , and in the most serious cases – the complete shutdown of a business .
Less than a third of CIOs ( 30 %) cite lack of staff awareness as a security issue , down from 50 % last year . This perceived improvement in staff awareness is due in part to an emphasised investment in additional training and technology measures to mitigate security risks . In fact , over 50 % of CIOs state their organisations invested in employee security training this year , likely to help prevent data breaches originating from employee activity .
Other areas of investment include :
• Security technology – 66 %
• Business Continuity planning – 40 %
• Third-party support through expert MSPs – 35 %
However , CIOs still feel their organisations have a long way to go in investing in comprehensive security measures . Despite the rapidly increasing cybersecurity risks , more than half of businesses ( 55 %) have yet to adopt a cyber-attack recovery plan .
Toby Alcock , CTO , Logicalis said : “ Over the last 18 months , many businesses set up interim solutions to cope with remote working with security and Disaster Recovery very much experiencing a trial by fire . Some measures worked , but more action is needed to secure hybrid workers and enhance business resilience .”
“ Businesses should adopt a holistic security approach with the capabilities to detect and respond to threats before they even take place . Predictive outlooks will fully protect the hybrid workforce and empower them to deliver optimal results for customers . Adopting technology to mitigate risk will also help businesses adapt to future obstacles , whether cyberattack-related or further market disruption . With a comprehensive plan , created with advice from a trusted partner , companies can rest assured knowing they ’ re protected .” p
60 INTELLIGENTCIO AFRICA www . intelligentcio . com