INFOGRAPHIC attacks increase or stay the same over the past year , with 39 % saying they ’ ve experienced significant downtime due to a ransomware attack .
Mimecast ’ s report is based on insights from 1,100 cybersecurity decision-makers in Australia , France , Canada , Germany , the Netherlands , the Nordics , Singapore , South Africa , the UAE , UK and US .
According to Werno Gevers , cybersecurity expert at Mimecast , business and security leaders see ransomware attacks as virtually inevitable . “ Seventy-five percent of businesses in the UAE reported they experienced a ransomware attack in the past year , ahead of a global average of 64 %. The consequences can be devastating : a third of UAE cybersecurity teams have experienced an increase in the number of absences due to burnout following an attack , while 23 % have seen changes in the C-suite due to a successful ransomware attack .”
The report further found that 44 % of UAE organisations have experienced a loss in revenue due to a ransomware attack in the past twelve months . This may partly explain why nearly half ( 46 %) of cybersecurity professionals in the UAE are considering leaving their role in the next two years due to stress or burnout , with 73 % of cybersecurity leaders in the region saying their role gets more stressful every year .
Gevers says the research also found that 94 % of global cybersecurity leaders believe more budget is required to combat ransomware , with 24 % of UAE organisations seeking an increase of 11 % to 20 % in their annual cybersecurity budgets .
“ Cybersecurity leaders need to focus on proactively reducing the chances of a ransomware attack causing disruption . Organisations need integrated security tools to improve threat detection capabilities and relieve pressure on busy security teams . Good fundamental security practices must be in place to reduce vulnerabilities , and security teams need to evaluate crisis planning to understand the real consequences of an attack . It is also essential that leaders acknowledge that cyber risk is business risk , and not leave the financial and personnel resource burden to only IT teams .” p
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